But now it seems eighth grade is not too soon. Just ask thousands of teenagers in Oklahoma if eighth grade is too early to start planning their future.
Chances are they'll say no.
PLAN provides a midpoint review for 10th graders, and ACT Assessment measures students' readiness for the transition to college. Before instituting the full range of these early assessment and career exploration programs, Oklahoma higher education authorities were concerned about the high number of students needing remedial work before entering college. They also viewed the ACT system as a way to guarantee students equal access to education and career-planning tools. Now, with 86 percent of students participating in the system, Oklahoma is witnessing higher ACT scores. For students not following a core curriculum, program participants scored an average of 19.7, compared with 19.2 for non-participants.