ACT Report for 2014 - Year 2014 (CA Dept of Education)

ACT Report for 2014 - Year 2014 (CA Dept of Education):

State Schools Chief Tom Torlakson Issues Statement on 2014 ACT® Report

SACRAMENTO — State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson today issued the following statement upon the release by ACT of its annual report, The Condition of College and Career Readiness 2014.

"It is heartening to see that today's ACT report shows California's graduating class of 2014 outperformed the nation in English, reading, math, and science," said Torlakson. "More and more of our students are becoming better prepared for college-level coursework as we help ensure they gain the skills and knowledge needed to thrive in an ever-changing and challenging world."

According to ACT, a curriculum-based measure of college readiness:

• Thirty-four percent of California's ACT-tested 2014 high school graduates met or surpassed all four of ACT's College Readiness Benchmarks (English, math, reading, and science) compared to 26 percent nationally.
• The average ACT score in California was 22.3 compared to 21 nationally.
• The number of California students taking the ACT has grown steadily over the past several years—from 15 percent of graduates in 2007 to 29 percent (113,732 students) of graduates in 2014.
• About 86 percent of California's 2014 ACT-tested graduates aspired to postsecondary education.

For more information on ACT and California's statistics, please contact ACT's Richard Moody at 319-333-9094 or visit ACT's2014 ACT National and State Scores | 2014 Condition of College & Career Readiness | ACT  Web page. California's disaggregated data by school will not be available for several months. For more information on college and career readiness, visit the California Department of Education's Career Readiness Campaign Web page.

Related Content

• Postsecondary Preparation - Provides standardized test results from the SAT Test, ACT Test, and the AP Tests which measure high school students' achievement.
• What is the ACT? - Description of the ACT test program developed by ACT, Inc.

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Tom Torlakson — State Superintendent of Public Instruction
Communications Division, Room 5206, 916-319-0818, Fax 916-319-0100

State Schools Chief Tom Torlakson Announces Funding for Local Educational Agency Projects

SACRAMENTO—The State Allocation Board (SAB) today disbursed more than $93 million to be used for over 400 Emergency Repair Program  (ERP) projects statewide impacting 53 local educational agencies (LEAs), State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson announced.

"Our students deserve the best opportunities for a successful future—to achieve that goal our youth need to learn in schools that are designed for the 21st century," Torlakson said. "These funds go a long way toward ensuring our schools overcome the challenges they face and boost California's investment in the next generation by strengthening school facilities to meet the growing demand of today's needs."

The ERP provides grant funding as well as funding to reimburse LEAs for the entire cost of repairing or replacing existing building systems, structural components, or equipment that are broken or not functioning properly and pose a health and safety risk to students and staff. Funds are made available annually through the State Budget.

The SAB, of which Torlakson is a member, meets monthly to allocate state matching funds for the construction of new classrooms, the modernization of existing schools, and other programs to improve learning environments, and adopts policies and regulations regarding SAB programs.

For the complete list of allocations, go to the SAB's online agenda  (PDF; 7MB), click on the "Consent" tab, and see Page 35.

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Tom Torlakson — State Superintendent of Public Instruction
Communications Division, Room 5206, 916-319-0818, Fax 916-319-0100