The message that earning a college degree provides a proven path to middle-class employment and stability has been pushed heavily toward young Americans in recent years, particularly as the Obama administration has established national goals for college degree attainment and challenged Americans to ensure that students are college- and career-ready when they finish high school.
In a study released last week, the ACT testing organization found that American Indians overwhelmingly say they want to pursue college and other forms of postsecondary education. Eighty-six percent of American Indian students indicate that they intend to further their education following high school. However, the findings showed that most American Indian students are poorly prepared to succeed in college.
The study, “The Condition of College and Career Readiness 2013: American Indian Students,” revealed that a majority, or 52 percent, of the American Indian students who took the ACT college readiness assessment did not meet any of the four ACT College Readiness Benchmarks that point to likely success in credit-bearing first-year college courses. The American Indian rate compares to 31 percent of all ACT-tested 2013 graduates who did not meet any of the benchmarks.
According to the ACT study summary, “only 62 percent of American Indian students completed the ACT-recommended core curriculum, lower than any other racial/ethnic group. On average, 74 percent of students completed a core curriculum.”
In addition, postsecondary education enrollment among American Indian students is the lowest of any racial/ethnic group that took the ACT. While 86 percent of American Indian students indicate that they want to seek some form of postsecondary education, only 54 percent of those students enrolled in a postsecondary institution in fall 2013.
The ACT study is based on data from approximately 14,217 ACT-tested 2013 high school graduates who identified themselves as being of American Indian race and ethnicity, according to the ACT. During ACT registration, students are asked to provide information about race and ethnicity, high school course taking and postsecondary goals.
Scott Montgomery, the ACT vice president of policy, advocacy and government relations, said the disconnect of post-high school aspirations in relation to preparation is particularly pronounced in ACT research on American Indian students. He added that, while the “results paint a stark picture, they can help us all identify appropriate ways to improve success” for American Indian students.
