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ACT recently released its report, The Condition of College & Career Readiness 2010, summarizing college readiness nationally and by individual state for graduating high school seniors who took the ACT exam in 2010.  Their report defined college readiness as an ACT score corresponding to a 50% probability of passing an entry level college course in one of four subjects:  English, Reading, Math, and Science. Nationwide, 28% of students tested met none of the four college readiness benchmarks, 24% met all four, while the remaining 47% fell somewhere in between (Figure).

What struck me as particularly disturbing from the national report were the observed racial disparities, particularly in light of very similar aspirations. When asked about their educational intentions, nearly all students taking ACT intended to pursue bachelor’s degrees or higher (from 76% of American Indians to 86% of Asian Americans).  Yet the percentages of students actually meeting all four college readiness benchmarks was much lower, ranging from 39% of Asian American seniors to only 4% of African American students.

This figure recreated using data from the two ACT figures linked above:

Despite nearly nine years of NCLB legislation designed and intended to eliminate achievement gaps, these disparities persist.  Equally as disturbing, these ACT data suggest that, regardless of race, the vast majority of high school seniors planning on a four year degree are not adequately prepared.  Perhaps with the ESEA re-authorization and its newfound emphasis on college readiness, gaps will reduce and college readiness rates will improve.  But unless the state tests and indicators used to measure school accountability are more concretely tied to college readiness benchmarks, it’s hard to imagine anything really changing.