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REL Southwest Compares College Readiness Standards for English Language Arts

The nation's focus on college readiness has intensified in recent years due in part to the large number of students who enter college requiring remedial assistance.

While states are required by federal law to adopt K-12 standards defining the knowledge and skills that students should attain as they progress through school, there is no federal mandate for states to adopt K-12 standards that are aligned with the academic demands of college. However, the recent American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) stipulates that states requesting stimulus funds for education show progress toward adopting standards and assessments that prepare students to succeed in college and the workplace and to compete in the global economy.

The REL Southwest report, A systematic comparison of the American Diploma Project English Language Arts college readiness standards with those of the ACT, College Board, and Standards for Success, details an independent comparison of four college readiness standards sets using the American Diploma Project (ADP) standards as the benchmark and the other three (ACT, College Board, and Standards for Success) as comparison sets.

Dr. Eric Rolfhus, Senior Research Scientist at REL Southwest states, "The ultimate goal of this study was to provide evidence-based information that will contribute to ensuring all students are adequately prepared for college and the workplace."

Among the study findings:

• The percentage of ADP's 62 standards statements that align with standards statements in each of the comparison sets varies, from 77 percent completely or partially aligned statements in College Board to 68 percent in Standards for Success and 34 percent in ACT.

• Only 5 percent of ADP standards statements (3 of 62) completely align with content included in all three comparison sets.

The comprehensive research report may be accessed through the link: http://www.edvanceresearch.com/REL_Southwest_Publications.aspx

REL Southwest at Edvance Research is one of ten educational laboratories in the Regional Educational Laboratory Network (REL Network) under the Institute of Education Sciences (IES) of the U.S. Department of Education. REL Southwest serves the states of Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas and works for the benefit of over 7 million students and 500,000 teachers in approximately 14,500 schools in grades pre-kindergarten through college in this five-state region. The REL Network encompasses ten geographical regions that span the nation with its primary mission being to serve the educational needs of designated regions. The REL Network uses applied research, development, dissemination, and training and technical assistance to bring the latest and best research and proven practices into school improvement efforts. http://ies.ed.gov/ncee/edlabs/regions/southwest

Founded in 2005, Edvance Research, Inc. is a women and minority, employee owned business, specializing in rigorous product, policy and market research, in the education market. Edvance Research is dedicated to improving outcomes by supporting organizations in learning about evidence-based practices and using that information to improve their work and results. Edvance Research is headquartered in San Antonio, Texas. www.edvanceresearch.com

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For REL Southwest
Meg Grant, 210-558-1902
mgrant@edvanceresearch.com