African-American students’ college readiness is lagging compared with that of other underrepresented students, according to a new report released on Monday by ACT and the United Negro College Fund. Sixty-two percent of African-American students who graduated from high school in 2014 and took the ACT met none of the organization’s four benchmarks that measure college readiness, which was twice the rate for all students.
"To help African-American students, we need to improve the quality of education they are receiving," said Jim Larimore, ACT’s chief officer for the advancement of underserved learners, in a news release announcing the report. "The report shows that even when they are doing what they are supposed to — in terms of taking the recommended college-preparatory curriculum and earning a high-school diploma — too many lack sufficient preparation for first-year college courses."
Past ACT reports have also focused on the racial achievement gap in college readiness, prompting criticism from some observers for a lack of consideration of social class.
Read more at The Chronicle of Higher Education: http://chronicle.com/blogs/ticker/black-students-are-among-the-least-prepared-for-college-report-finds/102435