Predicting College Completion of Students Who Take the ACT With Accommodations

Investment Rating - The report does not explicitly provide an investment rating for the industry Core Insights - The study indicates that ACT Composite scores may be a more reliable predictor of first-year college GPA (FYGPA) and college degree completion for students with disabilities who take the ACT with accommodations compared to high school GPA (HSGPA) [2][3] - The combination of ACT scores and HSGPA yields more accurate predictions of college outcomes than either measure alone, highlighting the importance of using multiple assessment tools for evaluating college readiness [2][3] - The findings suggest that students with disabilities may benefit from postsecondary institutions employing multiple measures to assess academic performance and readiness for college [5] Summary by Sections Introduction - Students with disabilities face barriers in education, impacting their college readiness and access to opportunities [12] - Lower graduation rates and college enrollment rates are observed among students with disabilities compared to their peers [14] Study Sample - The study included 143,768 ACT-tested students, with 2,659 (2%) taking the ACT with accommodations [31] - Students who tested with accommodations were more likely to enroll in two-year institutions compared to those without accommodations [34] Results - Students who tested with accommodations had lower ACT Composite scores and HSGPA than those who tested without accommodations [59][62] - The average ACT Composite score for students with accommodations at two-year institutions was 16.2, while for those without accommodations it was 18.9 [61] - The average HSGPA for students with accommodations was lower than for those without, with a notable difference of 0.21 points at four-year institutions [62] Conclusions - The study concludes that using both ACT Composite scores and HSGPA together improves prediction accuracy for college success among students with disabilities [2][3] - Future research is recommended to explore the effects of different types of disabilities and accommodations on college outcomes [2]