Study: Most First-Generation Students Not Prepared for College

While surveys show that most of those who would be first-generation college students want to attend college, a majority are not prepared to succeed in key courses, according to a report released Monday by ACT and the Council for Opportunity in Education (COE). The study found that 52 percent of first-generation 2013 high school graduates who took the ACT met none of the four ACT College Readiness Benchmarks. That compares to 31 percent of all ACT-tested graduates who met none of the benchmarks. Only 9 percent of the first generation students met all four benchmarks, while 26 percent of graduates overall did so. The benchmarks specify the minimum scores students must earn on each of ACT’s four subject tests (English, math, reading, and science) to have a 75 percent chance of earning a grade of C or higher in a typical credit-bearing first-year college course in the corresponding subject area.