This action agenda was prepared for the 2005 National Education Summit on High Schools. Its call for the readiness of our high school students for college, work and citizenship is ambitious, but the need for action had never been more clear or urgent. Governors and state leaders can use this agenda to move forward.

Ready or Not is the culminating report of the original American Diploma Project (ADP), a multi-year research project that led to the development of the ADP Benchmarks, end-of-high school expectations in mathematics and English Language Arts that represent what students need to know and be able to do to be ready for college and careers.

Achieve's review of graduation requirements in all 50 states and the District of Columbia compared to what students need to succeed in college or the workplace.

With the participation of six states, which together enroll nearly a quarter of the nation's high school students, Achieve set out to determine how high a bar high school graduation exams set for students.

Achieve focused on overall progress made in standards, assessments and accountability and reported that Oklahoma consistently maintained efforts to raise achievement for more than 10 years, establishing a firm foundation for standards-based reform.

Achieve reviewed the strengths and weaknesses of the state's K–12 standards in English language arts and math, comparing them to Achieve's benchmark standards and to the ACT Standards for Transition. We also conducted two different alignment studies: one to determine how well Oklahoma's tests matched its standards in English language arts and math and a second to see how well the ACT tests in English, reading and math matched Oklahoma's standards.