Is the ACT the Sole Criteria?

It all started when Council on Postsecondary Education President Bob King argued in the Herald-Leader that CPE's High School Feedback Report allows the state "to look more deeply into actual performance measured by an external, unbiased resource — the ACT exam."

King suggested that the ACT, by itself, was superior to predictions of college-readiness derived from combinations of data. Is CPE discounting graduation rates and average GPA in favor of a single test?

That drew a response from KSN&C's Skip Kifer, demonstrating the weak relationship ACT musters, and suggesting that CPE should propose placement procedures based on a robust notion of "readiness" that includes more than just the ACT and that did not violate test score use standards. It appeared to Kifer that CPE arbitrarily uses that single test score to determine whether a student is ready for regular course work in Kentucky's public universities.

Too clarify, King stated that CPE does not rely exclusively on the ACT to make college admission or placement judgments, nor does the Council on Postsecondary Education encourage such determinations.

Perhaps King should have reviewed CPE's printed material before saying that.

In last Saturday's H-L, Kifer wrote,

I am puzzled by Bob King's response to my critique of the Council on Postsecondary Education's policy of declaring a student college ready on the basis of a single test score.

King, director of the council, says: "Please allow me to clarify that Kentucky's colleges and universities do not rely exclusively on the ACT to make college admission or placement judgments, nor does the Council on Postsecondary Education encourage such determinations."

Yet when I look on the council's Web site, it says:

"The Kentucky statewide public postsecondary placement policy in English and mathematics applies to any student entering a Kentucky public college or university. The policy is based on your ACT or SAT score and determines what type of English and math classes you will need to take when you enter college."

This is what I found in my search. Notice the date posted. That's the day Kifer's piece ran. Maybe I missed something, but I didn't catch any changes in the language from when I looked at the same material in February.

StatewidePlacementPolicy: Postsecondary Placement Policy does … Postsecondary Placement Policy, please … PLACEMENT POLICY IN http://cpe.ky.gov/nr/rdonlyres/73e9a7b3-84dc-4ec2-8f1b-6a99261b5fb4/0/statewideplacementpolicy.pdf
- 120KB - kdrummond - 3/5/2011 [View duplicates]

And I found this:

The statewide placement policy is applicable to any incoming student entering a Kentucky public postsecondary institution. ACT and SAT standards form the basis of the policy because Kentucky uses the ACT (or equivalent measures) for college admissions and placement decisions.

That language says ACT forms the basis for placement decisions but stops short of saying the ACT is the only determinant. That comes next.

Kentucky Statewide Placement Policy in English
• A student earning an ACT English sub-score of 18 or higher qualifies for placement in a credit-bearing writing course at any Kentucky public postsecondary institution.

Kentucky Statewide Placement Policy in Mathematics
Three levels of readiness are identified for placement in a credit-bearing mathematics course at any Kentucky public postsecondary institution:
• Level 1: A student earning an ACT mathematics sub-score of 19 or higher qualifies for placement in a credit-bearing mathematics course, but this course may not be a requirement for many college majors or lead to subsequent coursework in mathematics. Mathematics for liberal arts is an example of such a course.
• Level 2: A student earning an ACT mathematics sub-score of 22 or higher qualifies for placement in college algebra. College algebra (or placement in more advanced courses) is required for majors such as biology, business, economics, information systems, and technology. College algebra can lead to any major.
• Level 3: A student earning an ACT mathematics sub-score of 27 or higher qualifies for placement in calculus. Calculus is required for majors such as mathematics, physics, chemistry, computer science, engineering, biology, business, and technology.

Kentucky’s statewide public postsecondary placement policy is a guarantee of
placement in credit-bearing coursework to incoming students demonstrating
specified levels of competence.