Recently, there has been increasing interest among state governments in establishing statewide testing of high school students. This interest has been driven by various goals, such as reforming high schools, improving the alignment between P-12 requirements and postsecondary expectations, and fulfilling the mandates of the federal No Child Left Behind Act. In addition, attention and interest has focused on the importance of preparing all students for college and work, and on the rigor of state standards and of current high school graduation and/or school accountability tests. As part of their move toward statewide assessment at the high school level, a number of states have adopted the ACT[R] test. The ACT, for students in grades 11 and 12, measures students' academic readiness to make successful transitions to college and work after high school. The ACT is the most widely accepted and used test by postsecondary institutions across the U.S. for college admission and course placement. This paper discusses the state and national issues addressed by ACT, the accomplishments of ACT, and the benefits it offers for students, parents, and schools.