It looks like I picked a good year to go on sabbatical. From the WSJ:
Only about a quarter of the 2009 high school graduates taking the ACT admissions test have the skills to succeed in college, according to a report on the exam that shows little improvement over results from the 2008 graduating class.
The Iowa City, Iowa-based ACT said 23% of this year's high school graduates had scores that indicated they were ready for college in all four ACT subject areas, or had at least a 75% chance of earning a grade of C or better in entry-level courses. Last year, a similar ACT analysis found that 22% of the class of 2008 was college-ready.
While a 1 percentage point increase is shown, that's probably not statistically different from 0.
If the trend were to continue, a college education today for the average student would be equivalent to a high school education 25 years ago.
HT Bob Simonson