Achieve's College and Career Readiness Quiz

Correct. In 2005, just five states — California, Indiana, Nebraska, New York, and Wyoming — could verify that their high school English and mathematics standards aligned with the expectations of colleges and employers. Today, all 50 states and the District of Columbia have college- and career-ready standards in place. For more, see our 2014 Closing the Expectations Gap report. 

Not quite. A whopping 83% of recent grads who took lower-level mathematics courses than Algebra II had to take remedial mathematics when they got to college. See more of what students had to say in our Rising to the Challenge survey results.

It’s actually all three. 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.

Wrong. Approximately half of all recent grads report at least some gaps in their preparation for success after high school. For more details, check out the full results of our Rising to the Challenge survey of students.

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. 

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. 

Not quite. 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. 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.