CPS students' ACT scores fall below both their college aspirations and their own expectations, and most interviewed students scored lower than they expected¶

Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study · qualitative r2 · q2
Currency · newest study 2008 · not yet checked against its sources · not reviewed by a person

Subclaims¶

q2 i? In interviews, 80 percent of the student sample performed lower on the ACT than they expected, and almost 80 percent wanted to retake the test. → Elaine Allensworth 2008

Evidence¶

Elaine Allensworth 2008¶

Elaine Allensworth, Macarena Correa, Steve Ponisciak. (2008). From High School to the Future: ACT Preparation–Too Much, Too Late. Consortium on Chicago School Research, University of Chicago. https://consortium.uchicago.edu/publications/high-school-future-act-preparation-too-much-too-late

q2 · i? · qualitative · r2

Qualitative longitudinal interviews with 105 CPS juniors conducted before and after the ACT found widespread expectation shortfalls; after receiving scores, students began changing their college plans downward.

"80 percent of our interview sample performed lower on the ACT than they expected, and almost 80 percent of the interviewed students expressed an interest in retaking the ACT with hopes of getting a better score."

Discussion¶

Related Claims¶

• More than 83 percent of Chicago public high school seniors plan to continue their education in the fall, and nearly 80 percent aspire to at least a four-year degree — related
• CPS students make smaller improvements on sequential EPAS tests from grade to grade than students nationally with the same prior scores — related
• Fewer than half of CPS juniors meet ACT college-readiness benchmarks in any subject, with science lowest at 9 percent — related
• CHSRI juniors' ACT scores were no different from similar students' and remained well below college readiness benchmarks — related
• Most interviewed CPS seniors describe senior year as unchallenging and easier than previous years — related
• Interviews show students used scores to trigger action but reflected shallowly, derived planning from previous scores, and diverged emotionally — related
• Students who fail to reach an ACT 20 gained only 0.6 points from PLAN to ACT versus 3.3 for those who reached 20, falling behind expected gains — related
• Almost 90 percent of college-continuing seniors intend to work while continuing their education, and 35 percent plan to work more than 20 hours per week — related
• The strongest college-readiness predictors measure four broad constructs: academic preparation, aspirations and expectations, socioeconomic status, and teacher perceptions — related