From 2010 to 2014, the percentage of students meeting all four of ACT Benchmarks has risen only slightly from 10% to 11%, indicating only 11% of high school students taking the ACT are actually college ready (2015).
According to Jobs of the Future (2015), only 21% of entering U.S. high school students graduate on time, enter college immediately, and earn an Associate's degree within three years or a Bachelor's degree within six years. Approximately 53% of 4-year students will earn a degree in 6 years and 38% of 2-year students will earning one in 3 years (Inside Higher Ed, Nov. 17, 2015).
In the May 8, 2015 Wall Street Journal article, Congratulations Class of 2015, You're the Most Indebted Ever (For Now), students average debt is more than $35,000 (not including credit card debt). Additional research from Inside Higher Ed, Proportion of college students with 'excessive' debt is growing, shows the problem is not getting better. The impact of student debt can be devastating (Consumer Reports, 2016)!
According to the US Department of Education, in 2015, most college graduates that receive financial aid make the same or less than high school graduates (USDE, 2015)
Employers say that most college students are often unemployable and lack even the basic skill sets expected of new employees. The Chronicle of Higher Education published an article titled "College Students Think They Are Prepared for the Workforce. Employers Aren't So Sure." The following graph comes from that article and demonstrates the disconnect between how well college graduates view they are prepared (dark grey) versus what employers think (light grey).
