This manual contains information about the American College Test (ACT) Plan® program. The principal focus of this manual is to document the Plan program's technical adequacy in light of its intended purposes. This manual supersedes the 2011 edition. The content of this manual responds to requirements of the testing industry as established in the…

Noncognitive attributes as the researchers have measured them do correlate with college GPA, but the incremental validity associated with these measures is relatively small. The noncognitive measures are correlated with other valued dimensions of student performance beyond the achievement reflected in college grades. There were much smaller…

ACT college test publisher provided scores. On average, non-homeschoolers performed better than homeschoolers, by about two items, out of sixty items, on the ACT mathematics test that was analyzed. This result may be due to the different teaching/learning media used in teaching each of the two groups, to different teacher/student interaction, or…

To shed as much light on the declining test score phenomenon as possible, pertinent American College Testing data are presented here in a succinct question and answer format. (JY)

Spurred in part by University of California (UC) President Richard Atkinson's February 2001 proposal to drop the SAT I for UC applicants, more attention is being paid to other tests such as the SAT II and ACT. Proponents of these alternative exams argue that the SAT I is primarily an aptitude test measuring some vague concept of "inherent…

Declining test scores have been a major cause for concern in the past year. Describes the decline and explores some possible causes. (Editor/RK)

Raises questions about the wisdom of relying on any single measure, especially a norm-referenced one such as the ACT, for making selective admission, retention, and certification decisions in teacher education. (FL)

The purpose of this paper is to document existing research on the test performance of handicapped people with respect to admissions and other similar tests. In addition, the psychometric characteristics of these tests when used with handicapped people are reported. Though much more data needs to be collected, several observations are made.…

Multiple regression equations predicting first semester grade point average (GPA) from high school percentile rank (HSPR) and Composite score on the American College Test (ACT:C) were examined for five successive fall freshman classes (1965-1969) at the University of Illinois. Slopes were significantly different among the five equations. Further…

The purpose of this study was to determine the validity of the American College Test (ACT) in predicting academic achievement of students from an area which is culturally, economically, and educationally depressed. The population, chosen from 6 community colleges serving the Appalachian region of Kentucky, consisted of 1,127 full time (12 or more…

Assessment programs like the American College Test (ACT) and the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) continue to play an important role in the admission decisions of many colleges. In many cases, they also serve a meaningful counseling and guidance function for high schools and colleges. The data reported in this paper suggest that the two programs can…

The American College Testing Program (ACT) is field testing a portfolio assessment model. The field test is designed to determine whether it is possible to implement a portfolio assessment model on a national level that will result in scores that are of sufficient reliability and validity that they can be used for decisions at the student level.…

Validity evidence was determined for an instrument used at a state university to measure student perception of the institutionally stressed importance of various professional traits and his/her performance of these traits. Subjects were 87 preservice teachers at the end of student teaching. Scores from the institutionally stressed importance…

A decline in student performance on the Scholastic Aptitude Test, the Achievement Tests, the American College Test, and the Preliminary Scholastic Aptitude Test has been observed nationally since the mid 1960's and evidence indicates that very similar trends have occurred in Massachusetts. Score declines have occurred in public, private, and…