The Knewton Blog

Welcome to Knewton’s first College Readiness News Roundup. With college readiness a growing concern across the nation, we’re keeping track of the latest news, insights, and research on the issue.

1. ACT Takers Make Marginal Gains in College Readiness, but Achievement Gaps Remain

While the number of high-school graduates who met all four of the ACT’s college-readiness benchmarks rose this year, the gains were very small, and much progress remains to be seen. Only 25% of graduates who took the ACT met the benchmarks in all four subjects tested (math, science, English, and reading). Read more about the implications of these statistics in this article from The Chronicle of Higher Education. You can also download the ACT’s full report, “The Condition of College and Career Readiness, ” here.

2. Website Compares MI High Schools’ Readiness Success

The state of Michigan launched a website today, www.mischooldata.org, that will provide a way to compare how well each high school in the state prepares its graduates for college-level courses. According to this article in the Detroit Free Press, the site “will include first-ever information on how many students from each school go to college, how many earn at least a year’s worth of college credit within two years of graduation, and how many have to take remedial courses in college.” The site aims to increase transparency and support parents’ efforts to help their children succeed.

3. Fresh Approaches to Old Problem: Roughly 1 in 3 College Students Require Remediation

This Washington Post articles covers a few new solutions to the pressing college readiness problem in the U.S., such as integrating college coursework into high school students’ schedules and establishing group peer mentorship programs to help students learn from one another.

4. Report Cites Philadelphia’s Lead Role in Fixing Underperforming High Schools

“Charting New Territory: Tapping Charter Schools to Turn Around the Nation’s Dropout Factories,” a recent report from the Center for American Progress, cites Philadelphia and Los Angeles as notable examples of school districts that have chosen to turn their schools into charters into order to improve graduation rates. According to this article from the Philadelphia Inquirer, the report suggests that “charter conversions can boost college readiness and graduation rates.”

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