“What do you want to be when you grow up?” It’s a question almost every child has been asked and one they usually ponder more seriously as they reach high school and approach graduation. Some students have a clear idea about what they want to do, whether that be heading to college or the workforce, while others are more unsure about what path they want to take, or, more specifically, are ready to take.

The term ‘readiness’ is used frequently in both education and workforce conversations as students inch toward graduation and contemplate transitioning to the next chapter of their lives. When it comes to choices, there have always been multiple pathways a student could take after high school: university, community college, workforce with or without training, and the military, but assessments have historically favored, almost exclusively, the four-year college path.

However, that philosophy is evolving due to a variety of factors and changes in the higher ed landscape. More than ever, students have access to data and support that indicate these other pathways are just as viable and potentially lucrative as the traditional college one, and the resources to help them measure and build the skillsets needed to pursue those opportunities.

What does ‘readiness’ mean?

The term ‘student readiness’ generally refers to how well a K-12 student is equipped for college or the workforce, focusing on vital academic and professional skills. While the K-12 curriculum includes several embedded accountability systems, some of the most widely used tools by higher education admissions officers and employers are scores from assessments like the ACT test for college readiness and the ACT WorkKeys National Career Readiness Certificate for workplace readiness.

According to the latest ACT research, performance on the ACT closely aligns with WorkKeys NCRC results. However, students are distributed across different readiness groups: about 31% were both college and career ready, 34% were only career ready, 2% were only college ready, and 33% were not ready for either pathway. College readiness was determined by earning at least a score of 20 on the ACT as defined in the ACT College Readiness Benchmarks, while career readiness was defined as earning a Silver-level or higher ACT WorkKeys NCRC. These findings demonstrate that each assessment offers distinct insights into future success.

With room to improve in each category, schools and districts can use these insights to adjust curriculum and instruction strategies to help students prepare for their postsecondary journey.

There is more than one type of readiness

It’s also important to acknowledge the emotional and preparation readiness factor that is often overlooked; do students feel ready to tackle college or the workplace, and what do they need to do to get there?

In another ACT study, three-quarters of students thought that their chosen paths – whether a degree or a credential – would lead to more specific job options, however a majority of those students also reported that they needed support and guidance to achieve their goals.

Additionally, a recent study by YouScience ٰ showed that 70% of high school graduates surveyed reported lacking strong confidence in their post-graduation plans.

The WorkKeys Essential Skills assessment enables students to identify their strengths in areas such as integrity, work ethic, collaboration, resilience, leadership, and creativity, thereby fostering confidence in pursuing their aspirations. Additionally, this assessment provides colleges and employers with a means to evaluate essential skills that are not typically addressed by standard academic assessments.

The culture shift

Evolving economic and education trends have more students considering nontraditional postsecondary options. By encouraging the use of both the ACT test and the WorkKeys NCRC, ACT supports both colleges and employers with validated, correlative data points and resources that provide a much clearer picture of student college and career readiness and predictors of success.

“It’s time for a new conversation—one that asks what postsecondary readiness really means today,” says Catherine Hofmann, ACT senior vice president of government and public relations. “That conversation should expand beyond the traditional college pathway to include the full range of options available to students: technical programs, trades, military service, apprenticeships, and yes, four-year degrees.”

The college test and the career test come together

Instead of siloing the ACT test for college and the WorkKeys NCRC for career, many states are administering both assessments to students. Doing so allows them to provide a more complete view of college and career readiness and, more importantly, to understand which category students fall into.

Louisiana, for example, has incorporated both the ACT and WorkKeys assessments into its school accountability model, offering districts credit when students score at least a 20 on the ACT and achieve a Gold-level or higher on the WorkKeys NCRC. ACT is actively working with other states to showcase the value of using both tests in tandem and identifying ways to support their needs.

This encourages students to explore a multitude of pathways forward, gauge their readiness with these assessments, and make more informed decisions about future plans. Colleges and employers can use this data to help predict applicant success rates or where they may need some extra support.

The bottom line

By using ACT’s multiple measurement tools, including the ACT test and the WorkKeys NCRC, educators, colleges, parents, and employers have access to more comprehensive data on what readiness really looks like for individual students. These insights help guide students toward the postsecondary path that best aligns with their strengths and goals, whether that leads to a four-year degree, a skilled trade, military service, or another meaningful opportunity.