The ACT doesn’t only make tests; they also write policy reports. Their newest one, “Communicating College and Career Readiness through Proficiency Standards,” has several policy recommendations for states adopting new educational standards.
The brief describes how Kentucky, New York, Florida, and the District of Columbia transitioned their state assessments to reflect college and career readiness but made different decisions about whether or how to determine performance and proficiency standards to match.
Lessons learned from these examples may help other states currently negotiating their own transitions. The report offers the following policy recommendations:
- Reinforce why college and career readiness is the right goal for all students
- Set proficiency standards using empirical data that indicate whether a student is on target for college and career readiness
- Develop and carry out a communications plan to prepare the public for a short-term decline in average state scores as a new baseline is being established.
Following these recommendations will help states navigate the transition to a culture in which student readiness for college and career becomes the “gold standard” by which educational progress is measured.
— View or download Communicating College and Career Readiness through Proficiency Standards.
— View or download Communicating Assessment Results, which summarizes the policy recommendations.
