Development and Validation of a Preliminary ELA Readiness Benchmark Based on the ACT ELA Score. ACT Research Report Series 2017-9
Author: Radunzel, Justine
Date: 2017-00-00
Type: Reports - Research
Subjects: College Entrance Examinations,College Readiness,College Preparation,Reading Skills,English,Language Arts,College Freshmen,Remedial Instruction,Benchmarking,Knowledge Level,Writing Skills,Social Sciences,Course Selection (Students),Grades (Scholastic),High School Graduates,College Bound Students

Although about 77% of ACT-tested high school graduates express an intention of earning a bachelor's degree or higher (ACT, 2016a), the percentage of students who achieve academic success in their first-year courses, persist in college, and ultimately earn a bachelor's degree within six years is substantially lower. Approximately 60% of students who initially enroll at a four-year institution graduate with a bachelor's degree, and only 30% of students who initially enroll at a two-year institution earn an associate's degree or certificate from their initial institution of attendance within six years (Kena et al., 2016). A lack of academic preparation in English and reading as evidenced by a significant percentage of incoming college students being required to take remedial coursework in these subject areas has been offered as one explanation for the low college graduation rates. The purpose of this research was to develop a preliminary English Language Arts (ELA) Readiness Benchmark to provide prospective students with information on the level of knowledge and skills needed to have a reasonable chance of success in ELA-related first-year courses. This is a preliminary study on ELA readiness as the data used to derive the ELA Benchmark was based on earlier freshman cohorts who took the former ACT® writing test; that is, ELA scores for these students were estimated based on their English, reading, and concorded writing scores (empirical evidence supporting this approach and more information on the former and current ACT writing tests are provided in Appendix A). This research had three components: Study 1 identified the English and social science courses that college students take most often in the first year of college, overall and by general major categories. In English, the most prevalent course was English Composition I. In the social sciences, multiple courses were identified as typically taken by students: American History, Other History, Psychology, Sociology, Political Science, and Economics. These patterns were seen irrespective of students' general major categories. These are the same courses that were used to derive the ACT College Readiness Benchmarks in English and reading, respectively. Study 2 derived a preliminary empirically-based ELA Readiness Benchmark in English and social science courses by identifying the ACT ELA score associated with a 50% probability of earning a grade of B or higher in the seven ELA courses identified from Study 1. When combining grade data for these seven courses into a single course success model that included an indicator for content area (English vs. the social sciences), the typical ACT ELA score that was associated with at least a 50% chance of earning a B grade or higher in ELArelated courses was determined to be 20. Moreover, this cutoff score was also associated with an approximate 75% chance of earning a C grade or higher. Study 3 validated the ELA Readiness Benchmark on more distal indicators of success. Results demonstrated that students who met the ELA Readiness Benchmark were more likely to earn a cumulative grade point average (GPA) of 3.0 or higher over time, persist in college, and ultimately earn a degree. Providing prospective students with ELA readiness information based on their English, reading, and writing skills may help facilitate the transition to college by raising their awareness of the literacy skills that are required to meet the demands of the array of ELA-related courses they will face in college. Such feedback can send a signal to students as to the level of readiness that is needed to avoid having to take remedial coursework in English and reading that can impede students' progress towards earning a college degree.