The Condition of College and Career Readiness National 2018 - Recommendations for Districts, States, and Policymakers

Oct 9, 2026

Educational outcomes among US high school graduates are stagnant and may be declining, particularly regarding readiness for college and career. The report outlines actions for districts, states, and policymakers to reverse this trend by increasing resources, expanding professional development, and elevating the teaching profession. It emphasizes early student learning assessment, implementation of improvement strategies, alignment with readiness standards, and equitable support for underserved students so all learners can build pathways to success.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages5

Reading Time13 min

AccessFree to download

Recommendations for Districts, States, and Policymakers

Recommendation #1: Provide educators with needed resources

Recommendation #2: Assess student learning early and implement improvement strategies

Recommendation #3: Provide equitable resources for underserved students

The Condition of College and Career Readiness National 2018 Recommendations for Districts, States, and Policymakers ACT score data over the years have consistently shown that educational outcomes among US highschool graduates—in the form of academic readiness for college and career—are stagnant, and this year’s results suggest they may even be trending down. Policymakers and educators must take strong, swift actions to reverse this course. The goal should be for all young people to have access to a high-quality, holistic education that will get them on target for college readiness or career readiness by the time they graduate from high school. To help meet this goal, ACT makes the following recommendations and provides resources to help get started: Recommendation \#1: Give educators the resources they need to help improve educational outcomes. For educators to have the desired impact on all of the students they serve, they must be given the proper resources. Funding for schools and education must be increased, not decreased. States and districts should provide plentiful professional development opportunities so that teachers may improve their craft and increase their positive impact. And the teaching profession must be elevated, with higher salaries and greater levels of respect, to attract talented, new instructors to the occupation. | Starting Point for K-12 Leaders and Educators | Starting Point for Policymakers | | --- | --- | | Demands on our educators are high and resources are low. We offer free materials to help you achieve your goals.
􀂄 Align curriculum and help students navigate shifts from kindergarten to career (K–Career) with research you can trust.
􀂃 Watch Video: How to help students transition through school
􀂃 Create a plan for the future-Beyond
Academics: A Holistic Framework for Enhancing Education and Workplace Success
􀂄 Utilize assessment results to create personalized pathways for your students with a FREE Learning Resource Tool, ACT® Academy™ . ACT Academy is tied to the ACT Holistic Framework and the PLDs can connect directly to your curriculum. (Watch the video)
􀂄 Access Free Professional Development. ACT is offering more professional development for educators than ever before in the forms of inperson workshops, live webinars, on-demand webinars and a newly released Knowledge Hub for educators using ACT assessments | Help improve students’ preparation for college and the workforce though policy improvements
Clearly define or explain what you mean by college and career readiness for your state
Explore the new flexibility in ESSA which offers states numerous opportunities to develop and implement personalized learning programs in K–12 education
Periodically review and update standards to ensure that they remain relevant to the rapidly changing skill and technology needs of postsecondary education and the workforce
Incentivize training, support, and professional development opportunities for teachers and principals to hone their strategies for engaging the“whole learner.” ESSA Title II-A provides formula support to states and school districts to fund professional development | 1 [act.org/condition2018](act.org/condition2018) The Condition of College and Career Readiness National 2018 Recommendations for Districts, States, and Policymakers Recommendation \#2: Assess student learning and implement improvement strategies starting early in students’ educational careers. ACT research suggests that if students are not on target for college and career readiness by the time they reach middle school, it may be too late for them to become ready by the time they graduate from high school. Assessing what students have learned, and implementing strategies to help them improve their skills and get on target, must begin in elementary school. Early assessment and intervention are critical to improving educational outcomes. | Starting Point for K-12 Leader

FAQs

What problem does the report identify regarding college and career readiness?

ACT score data shows educational outcomes for US high school graduates are stagnant and may be trending down, indicating students are not consistently on target for college and career readiness.

What is the report’s first recommendation for improving educational outcomes?

Give educators the resources they need, including increased school funding, plentiful professional development, and efforts to elevate the teaching profession through higher salaries and greater respect.

Why does the report stress early assessment and intervention?

It argues that if students are not on target by middle school, it may be too late for them to be ready by high school graduation, so assessment and improvement strategies must begin in elementary school.

Oct 9, 2026

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