| Title: |
A Synthesis of ACT Research Examining COVID's Impact on College Readiness, Career Plans, and Prediction of College Success. ACT Research. Issue Brief. R2420 |
| Language: |
English |
| Authors: |
Riley N. Loria; Edgar I. Sanchez; ACT Education Corp. |
| Source: |
ACT Education Corp. 2025. |
| Availability: |
ACT Education Corp. 500 ACT Drive, P.O. Box 168, Iowa City, IA 52243-0168. Tel: 319-337-1270; Web site: http://www.act.org |
| Peer Reviewed: |
N |
| Page Count: |
10 |
| Publication Date: |
2025 |
| Document Type: |
Reports - Descriptive |
| Education Level: |
Elementary Education; High Schools; Secondary Education; Higher Education; Postsecondary Education |
| Descriptors: |
COVID-19; Pandemics; Barriers; Career Readiness; Career Planning; Academic Achievement; Outcomes of Education; Scores; Educational Experience; Elementary School Students; High School Students; Student Characteristics; Race; Ethnicity; Gender Differences; Socioeconomic Status; Career Choice; Predictive Validity; College Entrance Examinations |
| Geographic Terms: |
Arkansas; Nebraska |
| Assessment and Survey Identifiers: |
ACT Assessment |
| Abstract: |
The worldwide consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic affected virtually every domain of human life. The pandemic's impact on the education and development of children and adolescents was particularly severe given the closure of schools, shifts to online learning, and cancelation of college entrance exam administrations early in the pandemic. These drastic changes in education and learning assessment methods, as well as the social and emotional turmoil presented by the pandemic, led many to question how student learning outcomes might change. Many predicted that time spent out of school, combined with the compounding anxieties associated with the unprecedented circumstances, might lead to worse educational outcomes. Researchers at ACT invested a great deal of time and effort in examining the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on student outcomes and experiences. This paper highlights and summarizes this work. The authors describe these projects in order of student age and grade level, beginning with assessments of the pandemic's impact on ACT® Aspire® scores (test takers in Grades 3 through 10), followed by research on PreACT® outcomes (test takers primarily in Grade 10), research on outcomes/differential outcomes on the ACT® test by demographic, and research on students' career choices and the predictive validity of precollege achievement measures before and after the onset of the pandemic. By examining these findings in conjunction with each other, the overarching effects of pandemic-related changes on educational outcomes can be more clearly seen. This synthesis includes findings from ten papers, some of which contain multiple studies. The authors have grouped these by their main outcome measures and briefly review the methods and results for each paper, dividing the paper into relevant studies where needed. The report begins by describing common features across all studies, then move to describing the papers themselves. |
| Abstractor: |
ERIC |
| Entry Date: |
2025 |
| Accession Number: |
ED673793 |
| Database: |
ERIC |