States across the country are rethinking how education systems connect to life after high school. As policymakers work to ensure that every student has a clear pathway from school to career — whether that path leads to college, the workforce, or the military — one theme is becoming increasingly clear: Aligning K–12, postsecondary, and workforce data is essential to understanding and improving student outcomes.
This was the focus of a recent webinar titled, Partnering for Success: Aligning K-12, Postsecondary and Workforce Data, hosted by the Education Commission of the States in partnership with ACT. The conversation brought together state leaders from Alabama and New Mexico to share how their states are using multiple accountability systems, including assessments and collaborative data partnerships, to better define and measure college and career readiness.
Why data alignment matters
States are expanding their definitions of student success beyond a single test score. Many are adopting multiple measures of readiness that reflect academic achievement, career skills, and real-world experiences, such as work-based learning and industry credentials. But these efforts only work when data systems are connected across education and workforce agencies.
When K–12, postsecondary, and workforce data are aligned, policymakers can answer critical questions:
- How do students move through education and training pathways that lead to valued credentials?
- Which indicators within the accountability systems truly predict success after high school?
- Are there data gaps, and how should they be addressed?
ACT plays a key role in this data alignment that states are utilizing. Assessments, including the ACT test and ACT WorkKeys, generate data that can be used consistently across systems to signal both academic preparation and workforce readiness.
Alabama: Moving beyond a one-dimensional model
Alabama’s approach reflects a deliberate effort to value both college and career preparation. As an ACT partner state, Alabama administers the ACT (with the writing section) to all 11th-grade students and ACT WorkKeys to the majority of 12th-grade students. This allows the state to examine college and career readiness through multiple lenses within a single accountability framework.
Shanthia Washington, assistant state superintendent at the Alabama State Department of Education, emphasized the importance of this dual approach. “We’re not just looking at students from the lens of college readiness, but also through the lens of career readiness,” Washington said. “Not only does this allow us to satisfy our state accountability indicators, but we all want to make certain that we have productive citizens who can successfully join the workforce or go to college.”
Alabama is weighing a proposal to add WorkKeys testing into its federal accountability system as a way of developing a more complete picture of student readiness.
Washington explained that with this strategic plan, it’s necessary to make sure the data around college and career readiness align with the state’s goals and reflects the priorities of the communities that were involved. “We want to make certain that everything aligns and provides us with transparency around the data because the accountability model is supposed to reflect the alignment with the state’s priorities. It’s important to ensure we are pulling the appropriate data in order to meet our goals.”
Relying on a single measure can ignore certain academic and workforce skills required for the multitude of pathways a learner can choose. “This would give us a true measurement of our student readiness overall and not just a one-dimensional approach to looking at assessment,” she said.
Under this model, Alabama estimates that readiness rates could increase significantly by recognizing both college-ready and career-ready students — more accurately reflecting the outcomes students are prepared for after graduation.
New Mexico: Building bridges across agencies
In New Mexico, the conversation about readiness is deeply connected to equity, economic mobility, and workforce needs. Lynn Vasquez, senior manager at the New Mexico Public Education Department, framed the issue in practical terms.
“In New Mexico, the question of college and career readiness is not abstract,” Vasquez said. “It’s closely tied to our workforce needs, as well as our rural, urban, and cultural context, and our responsibility to ensure that a high school diploma has real meaning after high school.”
New Mexico already includes ACT and ACT WorkKeys in its state accountability model under the ESSA school quality and student success indicator. However, a key challenge has been access to workforce data that lives outside the K-12 system. While ACT WorkKeys is funded and administered through New Mexico’s Department of Workforce Solutions, K–12 schools have not always had easy access to those results.
To address this, New Mexico is developing formal data-sharing agreements across agencies, with ACT serving as a key partner, who, Vasquez acknowledges, has been “a partner in building a bridge between the public education department and our department of workforce solutions.”
She adds, “One of the trickiest parts is creating a system in which data is accessible,” Vasquez explained. “We wanted to break down that barrier for schools and reduce the burden of reporting, so we’re developing a shared agreement with the Department of Workforce Solutions so we can easily access the WorkKeys data from ACT.”
By aligning data systems, New Mexico aims to better integrate workforce readiness data into education accountability and ensure students receive credit for skills that matter in the labor market.
ACT’s role in connecting systems
Across both states, both the ACT test and ACT WorkKeys function as a common language connecting K–12 education, postsecondary expectations, and workforce requirements.
Together, these tools support:
- Consistent readiness signals across systems
- Stronger accountability models that value multiple pathways
- Data-sharing across education and workforce agencies
Stakeholders at the center
Both Alabama and New Mexico emphasized that alignment efforts must be built with — not just for — stakeholders. Educators, employers, policymakers, families, and students all play a role in shaping accountability systems.
Washington underscored this point clearly: “It’s important to survey and involve your stakeholders in the decision-making because it impacts them,” she said. In creating their readiness accountability model, “we made certain that we involved all the stakeholders, which included not just our education family, but government officials, educational organizations, students, and families. It’s amazing the feedback you receive when you bring everyone to the table.”
Vasquez echoed the importance of broader collaboration, “Don’t create something and then ask for permission. Draw in your stakeholders to be co-creators.”
Looking ahead
Aligning K–12, postsecondary, and workforce data is not a quick fix; it’s a long-term effort across all systems. But as Alabama and New Mexico demonstrate, states that invest in alignment gain clearer insights into student pathways and stronger tools to support success after high school.
As accountability systems evolve, ACT’s role in providing reliable, connected measures of readiness will remain central. For states looking to modernize accountability, alignment is no longer optional, they’re foundational.
Ultimately, these efforts move states closer to a shared goal: ensuring every student graduates with skills, credentials, and opportunities that truly prepare them for what comes next.