State should broaden its readiness definition

Families across Alabama are asking hard and necessary questions about what’s next for their high school students. What’s the right path for my child? What if my student isn’t excited about enrolling in a traditional, four-year college program? And how can our schools better prepare students for a future that’s changing faster than ever before?

At the heart of this conversation is how we define and measure post-high school readiness. For too long, the nation has relied on a definition of readiness focused almost exclusively on whether students are ready for success in four-year college degree programs. College is a tremendous pathway, and we want it to be a viable choice for all students. We know, however, that college immediately after high school isn’t the only great option, and we’ve come to realize that a single measure of readiness doesn’t tell the full story for every student.

That reality is clear for young people themselves. The number of students successfully going from high school to work or enrolling in skilled trade and technical programs continues to increase. Those young people are demonstrating that there’s more than one pathway to success and they are demonstrating the need for a broader definition of readiness.

Our accountability system should reflect these realities. It should uphold academic standards, give students and families meaningful information, and empower them to make more fully informed decisions.

That’s why the Alabama State Department of Education has proposed a waiver to the U.S. Department of Education to allow the state to incorporate the ACT WorkKeys National Career Readiness Certificate (NCRC) into our system for measuring student and school success. I believe this is the right step forward for Alabama’s students and families.

To be clear, the ACT WorkKeys NCRC would be added to our current system, which uses the ACT to assess whether students have met our rigorous high school academic standards. The new accountability system will give schools full credit for academically preparing a student only if the student demonstrates college and career readiness.

While the ACT is focused on academic skills in a college context, the three WorkKeys tests that lead to the ACT NCRC measure students’ ability to use academic skills in work contexts related to applied math, graphic literacy, and workplace documents. WorkKeys tests are scored on a 3 to 7 scale and students must earn at least a 4 on the three tests to earn a Silver NCRC and be counted as proficient for accountability purposes.

If this system were in place last year, another 11,000-plus graduates would have been deemed academically proficient. Is that lowering the bar and inflating preparedness? I don’t believe so, and importantly, the research proves these students are ready to apply academic skills in indemand jobs.

The proposal keeps the ACT as the measure of whether students meet our standards in math, English-Language Arts, and science.

At its core is a simple idea: Every student deserves access to pathways that lead to meaningful careers and economic mobility. That means preparing students not only for college, but also for high-demand technical fields, skilled trades, and emerging industries.

These are not second choice pathways. They are essential ones. Our goals are to expand, not limit, opportunity; to meet students where they are and prepare them for the future they will enter, not the one we imagined decades ago.

Education must evolve alongside the economy it serves. By aligning our assessments with future-ready skills and employer needs, Alabama is helping students see the full range of possibilities ahead and giving families the information they need to make confident, informed choices.

Dr. Eric Mackey is the state superintendent of education for K-12 public schools. He was appointed superintendent by the Alabama Board of Education in April 2018.