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. 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. 

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.

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. 

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.

That’s right – unfortunately, many students to not have equal access to CCR courses. Just 63% of high schools offer physics courses. For more stats on course availability, see page 13 of our 2014 Closing the Expectations Gap report. 

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. 

Incorrect. Approximately eight out of ten college faculty members are dissatisfied with their students’ preparation for success in college. For more, see what employers and college faculty had to say in our 2015 survey.