ACT and The NROC Project Collaborate to Improve College Completion Rates
IOWA CITY, Iowa—ACT today announced the introduction of ACT®
CollegeReady™, a web-based system that
measures students’ readiness for college math and English and provides a
personalized study path for knowledge and skill building. The system is
designed for colleges and universities as part of a new collaboration between
ACT and The NROC Project, an organization dedicated to improving
students’ college and career readiness.
Nearly half of all incoming freshmen are not ready for
college-level coursework in math or English, according to nonprofit Complete
College America. Research has indicated
that a “placement only” model, without readiness support, is less effective at
helping students persist in college. In 2015, ACT retired ACT Compass, a
college placement assessment, because it was not a comprehensive solution to
support student success.
“Many students, including adult learners and those returning to complete their college studies, are incorrectly placed into costly remedial courses when all they really need is a little personalized learning to get them on track,” said ACT Chief Commercial Officer Suzana Delanghe. “ACT CollegeReady is a win-win solution for students and colleges because it not only identifies skills gaps, but also provides foundational support to put students on a path to a college degree.”
ACT CollegeReady, which will be available to colleges in spring 2018, is based on NROC’s proven technology and educational content.
Upon completing an assessment
of math and English skills, students receive a CollegeReady score. This score
determines whether they are prepared for college-level courses. If not, the
interface guides the student through personalized learning supports to help
them improve and achieve the target scores needed before college registration.
“The learning system NROC created continues to attract interest and enthusiasm from educators, administrators, and policymakers because it centers on student readiness instead of the all-powerful placement exam,” said Dr. Gary Lopez, founder of The NROC Project. “By working with ACT, NROC can help far more students prepare themselves for college-level, credit-granting courses, saving them money on tuition, books, fees, and most importantly, ensuring they are prepared to attend and graduate from college.”
ACT and The NROC Project share similar missions to support
student success and address the particular needs of non-traditional students,
who may be underprepared for first-year, college-level coursework.
College readiness is a national problem, as evidenced by the
2017
ACT Condition of College and Career Readiness Report. The report shows that
among 2017 ACT-tested U.S high school graduates, only 39 percent of test-takers
met the ACT College Readiness Benchmarks in at least three of the four core
subject areas. An unfortunate effect
of this readiness gap is that many students need remediation and consequently
struggle to persist in college. In fact, it’s estimated that fewer than one
in 10 students graduate from community colleges within three years and
little more than a third complete bachelor’s degrees in six years.
About ACT
ACT is a mission-driven,
nonprofit organization dedicated to helping people achieve education and
workplace success. Headquartered in Iowa City, Iowa, ACT is trusted as a national
leader in college and career readiness, providing high-quality assessments
grounded in nearly 60 years of research. ACT offers a uniquely integrated set
of solutions designed to provide personalized insights that help individuals
succeed from elementary school through career.
About NROC
The NROC Project (NROC.org) is an organization dedicated to improving students’ college and
career readiness. NROC’s unique membership model ensures academics are central
to product development, efficacy testing, and the establishment of
implementation best practices.