for further information:
Bob Schaeffer (239) 395-6773
cell (239) 699-0468
for use with annual ACT scores August 2015
FIVE YEARS OF FLAT ACT SCORES SHOW TEST-AND-PUNISH POLICIES
FAILED TO IMPROVE AVERAGE COLLEGE READINESS
OR SIGNIFICANTLY NARROW RACIAL GAPS
Five consecutive years of stagnant results on the ACT, the nation’s most widely used college admissions exam, further demonstrate the need to end the nation’s failed experiment with test-driven education, according to the National Center for Fair & Open Testing (FairTest).
Reacting to ACT scores released today, FairTest Public Education Director Bob Schaeffer explained, “Proponents of federal and state programs, such as ‘No Child Left Behind ‘ and ‘Race to the Top,’ promised that focusing public school classrooms on test results would boost college readiness while sharply narrowing gaps between racial groups. The ACT data reveal that did not happen.”
The federal government’s National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) and the SAT admissions test also report stagnant college readiness scores and racial gaps.
Schaeffer continued, “The public gets the message: test-driven school ‘reform’ does not work. The recent Gallup/Phi Delta Kappan poll shows that Americans are fed up with politically mandated test misuse and overuse. Most oppose rating students, teachers and schools based on standardized exam scores. They have seen how testing overkill undermines academic quality and equity. It is time for elected officials in Washington, DC and state capitals to end disastrous test-and-punish policies.”
– – 3 0 – –
(2011 – 2015) | |||||
ALL TEST-TAKERS | 21.0 | -0.1 | |||
African-American | 17.1 | + 0.1 | |||
American Indian | 17.9 | – 0.8 | |||
Asian | 23.9 | + 0.3 | |||
Hispanic | 18.9 | + 0.2 | |||
White | 22.4 | 0.0 | |||
Female | 21.0 | 0.0 | |||
Male | 21.1 | – 0.1 | |||
Source: ACT, The Condition of College & Career Readiness 2015 |