Very few states measure students' readiness for college and work, according to Achieve's research. Colleges use admissions and placement exams that are, by and large, disconnected from the curriculum students study in high school.

In addition, high school tests typically measure 8th, 9th and 10th grade skills — only a subset of the skills students will ultimately need after graduation. (Achieve)

The result: Colleges and employers pay little attention to state test results, sending a signal to students and parents that student performance on those tests does not matter.

States must assess all high school students before their senior year to measure whether graduates are on track for credit-bearing postsecondary courses and careers. That way, schools will be able to work with high school students to close learning gaps before graduation. Postsecondary institutions can then confidently use these results for placement decisions.

Why It's Important

Taking tests in high school helps students succeed in college and the workplace

• Virtually all (94 percent) employers and the vast majority of college instructors (85 percent) say that giving students college placement tests when they are juniors to find out whether they are ready for college-level work or where they need to fill gaps in their learning would improve students’ chances of success. (Achieve)

Using high school test results for college placement and ultimately for hiring decisions sends a clear signal to students about what is important to know

• Nine states currently use high schools assessment results for college admissions and/or placement decisions. (Achieve)
• 23 states plan to use high school assessments for college admissions and/or placement decisions. (Achieve)

Administering tests in the junior or senior year of high school allows states to measure content more closely aligned with postsecondary and workplace expectations

• Most states administer tests in the 10th grade. These tests focus on the more rudimentary content covered in middle school and early high school grades. (Achieve)
• Twenty-one states administer reading tests and 15 states administer writing tests in the 11th or 12th grade. (Achieve)
• Nearly half of the states administer tests in math in 11th or 12th grade or at the end of courses such as Algebra II. (Achieve)
• Only five states administer upper-grade-level assessments in all three subjects. (Achieve)
• Only two states currently use comprehensive high school tests, given in grade 11, to measure students’ college and work readiness. (Achieve)

Students and the public support graduation exams

• Eighty percent of the general public favors requiring students to pass a statewide graduation test. (Educational Testing Service)
• Four in five (81 percent) students polled say that their schools would be improved if they required students to pass exams in math and English to graduate. (Horatio Alger)

What States Are Doing

Nine states already incorporate a college-readiness assessment into their high school testing systems:

• Three states measure the college and career readiness of students using state-developed high school assessments. New York and Texas have established a readiness score that is higher than the score required for graduation on the Regents End-of-Course Exams and the 11th grade Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills, respectively. California includes voluntary items from the California State University (CSU) System on the 11th grade standards-based tests. Students who score high enough on these tests and continue to take challenging courses their senior year of high school have their placement exam waived when they enter CSU.
• The remaining six states require all students to take a national college admissions exam. Colorado, Illinois, Kentucky, Michigan and Tennessee incorporate the ACT national college admissions test into their state assessment systems, and Maine incorporates the SAT into its assessment system. For Illinois and Michigan, the ACT serves as only one component of the state high school assessment — others include WorkKeys and state-developed test components designed to more fully assess state standards. Maine uses an augmented version of the SAT that more closely aligns with its standards.

Regardless of the which path a state pursues, the next-generation assessments must adequately measure college and career readiness, and they must be well aligned with state high school standards. Additionally, it is paramount that K-12 and higher education systems come together to ensure alignment of the tested knowledge and skills, as well as the alignment of testing policies for the next-generation college- and career-ready assessments to meet the needs of both systems and, more importantly, the needs of the students.