This brief explores how the growth of school-day testing has changed the overall population of annual ACT testers to be more representative of all students; it also highlights key insights from school-day testing programs nationwide.

ACT retesting occurs when students take the ACT® test multiple times with the goal of improving their scores and postsecondary credentials. In this paper, the author examines preliminary data for the 2022 ACT-tested graduating cohort to better understand the ACT score gains that occur with retesting. The author presents the following six things to…

ACT is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to help people achieve education and workplace success. To help fulfill that mission, ACT offers school-day testing programs that provide all students with state- or district-funded access to its college readiness and admissions assessment, removing barriers to testing and opening doors to…

This study examined the performance, demographics, and contextual factors of students taking the ACT® test with accommodations compared to students taking the ACT without accommodations. We examined the prevalence of accommodations provided and disability categories as well as performance by disability type. We also examined demographic…

This study examined the performance of English learners (ELs) taking the ACT® test with testing supports, as compared to ELs and non-ELs taking the ACT without supports or accommodations. Contextual factors were also explored, including high school experiences and demographic characteristics such as low-income and first-generation college student…

Recent research suggests that the use of student search services is an effective part of a college's student marketing and recruitment strategy. What is not clear, however, is whether participating in a search service is an effective part of a student's college search strategy. To address this question, we exploit a recent change in the choice…

We surveyed 237 first-time college students to examine the extent to which social-cognitive factors--self-efficacy, perceptions of mentorship, high school GPA, ACT scores, first-semester college GPA, and demographic characteristics-- influence freshmen's intent to persist. Standard multiple regression and MANOVA were conducted to determine the…

In a quasi-experimental evaluation of the possible role of stereotype threat in the academic performance of college students with learning disabilities (LD), students with (N = 29) and without (N = 62) identified LD took a simulated Verbal GRE® task in one of two conditions modeled after those used in past stereotype threat (ST) research. The task…

The Major Field Test in Business (MFT-B), a standardized assessment test of business knowledge among undergraduate business seniors, is widely used to measure student achievement. The Educational Testing Service, publisher of the assessment, provides data that allow institutions to compare their own MFT-B performance to national norms, but that…

The present research examined the extent to which pre-college characteristics, high school experiences, college expectations, and initial enrollment characteristics were related to graduation from college. Data from admission applications, the "ACT Compass" survey, and initial enrollment measures for Fall 2004 and Fall 2005 first-time…

Although the reader may wish to use the entire American College Testing (ACT) Program Profile for detailed study and comparison, this abstract is prepared to give a brief overview of the highlights contained in that report. The format presented in this abstract might also serve as a model for a brief profile of student characteristics at the local…

The purpose of this study was to identify the nonacademic reasons that preclude African American males from enrolling in college after high school completion. The examination of this study evolved as a result of an abundance of African American males choosing not to enroll in college after completing high school. A mixed-methods research design…

IN 1966-67, AMERICAN COLLEGE TESTING PROGRAM SCORES EARNED BY 67 GLENDALE COLLEGE (ARIZONA) TECHNICAL STUDENTS WERE COMPARED WITH SCORES OF THE COLLEGE'S POPULATION AS A WHOLE, NUMBERING 693 STUDENTS. THE SCORES OF TECHNOLOGY STUDENTS TENDED TO BE LOWER IN ENGLISH AND SOCIAL SCIENCE, ABOUT THE SAME AS THOSE OF THE GENERAL POPULATION IN NATURAL…

This chapter outlines the procedures followed in an experimental program for low-achievers during their freshman year at Southern Illinois University. Specifically described are the experimental design, selection of subjects, and the treatment according to the experimental, control, and norm groups. In addition, the sample group is described in…

Statistics in this report reflect characteristics of 1991 graduates from a given school (individual data, however, are not provided in this sample) who took the American College Testing (ACT) Program assessment. A 5-year trend history of college-bound students is provided. The following tables are presented: (1) average ACT scores by academic…