Achieve's College and Career Readiness Quiz

No. Unfortunately, just 23 states and the District of Columbia have raised their course requirements in ELA/literacy and mathematics to the CCR level. See page 7 of Achieve’s 2014 Closing the Expectations Gap report for more details. 

Correct! The development of the Common Core State Standards was a state-driven process, led by governors and state commissioners of education from 48 states through their membership organizations (the National Governors Association and the Council of Chief State School Officers). For the full background on how the Common Core came to be, check out this website.

Correct. 61% of employers reported that their newly-hired high school grads had to get additional training or education to make up for gaps in their preparation – up from 42% in 2004. See everything employers and college faculty had to say in our 2015 survey results. 

That’s right. When the ADP network, which was established to help states work together to make college and career readiness a priority, was launched in 2005, just Arkansas and Texas had statewide CCR graduation requirements. You can read more about the current status of graduation requirements across the country in our 2014 Closing the Expectations Gap report. 

That’s right. While most were satisfied with students’ computer and technology skills, more than 75% of college faculty were displeased with their students’ critical thinking, written communication, and work and study habits. Check out faculty and employers’ full impression of recent high school grads here.

Not quite. 17 states administer a college admissions assessment, like the ACT or SAT, to all students. For more info, check out page 5 of Achieve’s 2014 Closing the Expectations Gap report. 

That’s right. Recent grads told us in our 2014 survey that real-world learning opportunities, better communication about necessary courses, and opportunities to enroll in challenging courses were the top three things that would have encouraged them to work harder and be better prepared for life after high school.

That’s correct – only one out of four recent high school grads reported that they felt their high school set high academic expectations. See everything the students had to say in our full Rising to the Challenge survey results.