Is this the beginning of the end of standardized testing or just a pandemic dip along the lowest overall test scores in 30 years (19.8 average). A 30% drop in test takers since 2018 (37% drop in African American test takers in same period).
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Another factor is if college-bound students reduced their ACT participation due to test optional/blind college admissions policies, that could mean that a higher percentage of ACT takers are non-college-bound students in places where all high school students take the test (the linked page notes that “In Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi, Nevada, Tennessee and Wyoming, everyone is tested”).
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Yes, I also imagine that there are far fewer students who are taking the ACT multiple times in hopes (often successful) of getting better scores. Also less money spent on test prep.
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The scary part is this means those today are still scoring higher (as an average) then back when I was in school over 30 years ago. Only college bound students took it then where I went.
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The article also points out the number of students taking the ACT has declined by 30% since 2018. It seems ACT is at risk of going out of business, especially when the digital SAT launches in 2023-24. I think a 2 hour digital SAT will be very attractive to students as compared to the 3 hour ACT.
Unlike CB which has significant other revenue streams (AP tests and CSS Profile), ACT has only the ACT test and materials. Regardless what one’s thinks of testing, a world with only the SAT is not great.
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My D23 is in TN where everyone is tested. Her scores were reasonable (i.e., matching the mid-point of colleges she is interested in), so she has been reporting them to colleges. But since many schools are still test-optional, I really hope that was the right decision! These are very confusing times.
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But, but, I thought that test scores don’t mean anything, and that they’re inherently biased because not all subgroups have the same overall achievement on them, that they’re totally meaningless? Then how could a low score on a standardized test possibly mean that the students’ learning was disrupted by Covid? Does that mean that someone besides MIT (where they need the engineers to have proven that they know how to do at least a little bit of math) still believes that a low standardized test score might mean that the student hasn’t mastered the material taught in high school?
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Frankly, the ACT’s management during the pandemic was so monstrously horrible, it should have just shut itself down and dissolved the company. It was that bad. I won’t cry to see it gone, even though I do think that the ACT, as a very achievement-oriented test, was a good measure of whether a student had mastered the material taught in high school.
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Not doubting you, but do you have some articles about ACT you can share during the worst of the pandemic?
No, but I can direct you to the primary source - the parents’ and students’ postings on the ACT’s own Facebook page. I can tell you that it was incredibly frustrating and difficult trying to schedule an ACT for my kid for their only shot at the ACT, in summer 2020, before 12th grade. Registration was worse than horrible, just about impossible, the ACT staff was utterly and completely unresponsive. The organization completely fell apart. No way to reach anyone there, ever. I wound up emailing the CEO, who never could fix anything. Untruthful promises which never were fulfilled. Refund requests that were perpetually ignored - the only way to recover a cent was through challenging the credit card charges. Ask any parent or student who tried to get an ACT seat in summer/fall 2020. The records are all there on the ACT’s facebook page, if you care to do the research.
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Got it. Thanks.
ACT has WorkKeys and other products.
Their current stance is to continue to offer the paper exam which will be appealing to many individuals with different learning differences and accommodations. It will also be easier to proctor and implement for some school districts as a paper test.
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ACT’s handling of the pandemic was atrocious, as was College Board’s. However, I’ve been hearing outrageous stories about ACT for years now. They definitely are more notorious for falsely accusing students of cheating than College Board.
I do think that they are on the precipice of disaster. Just having the SAT though isn’t great for students.
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CB and other experts seem to think any accommodations can be handled by the digital format (which many standardized tests have already moved to). Which students who need accommodations do you foresee preferring ACT? One thing for sure is that those who want to cheat prefer paper based tests, because an adaptive digital SAT won’t be nearly as easy to cheat as paper based, which is a not insignificant factor in the switch to digital testing.
I agree that it’s nice for students to have the option of the somewhat different test. Some students just do much better on the ACT than on the SAT. But that doesn’t justify the existence of the ACT any longer, after how badly it performed during the spring/summer/fall of 2020. There was no excuse for what they did. I wonder if they simply had no money to pay for customer service, or website maintenance. It honestly seemed as if no one was employed there, other than the CEO.
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I forgot about Workkeys, but the ACT test and materials represented $175m of ACT’s $190m revenues (most recent Form 990 for fiscal year ending Aug 2020), so Workforce development is unlikely to be able to keep ACT afloat.
I understand the accommodations concerns with the varsity blues cheating scandals.
That is not the kid I have in mind.
Writing on the test booklet, circling text, working through questions, etc…helps a lot of kids. Marking out 2 of the four multiple choice answers to focus on the two more likely answers… The simulation of those executive functioning skills is just not the same in the digital format, especially on a tiny chromebook with no mouse. Not all schools have enough computer labs for everyone to have a big screen.
During Covid testing, I lived through a kid taking AP exams with technical issues and stress of trying to go back and forth answering questions on a chromebook.
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I concur. Digital is not great for all learners. Being digital can be an obstacle for many.
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Agree, ACT management and communication during pandemic was horrible.
You are absolutely correct. I tutor student for both tests and unequivocally, being able to use physical pencil and paper is very helpful. This is a legitimate concern and I suspect when SAT moves to digital, a whole new host of problems are going to crop up, resulting in a huge increase in students seeking accommodations for extra time.
Yes, cheating will be harder, but what are the unanticipated consequences?
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