A new digital tool to test academic and behavioral skills will focus on students starting kindergarten.
ACT is an organization that developed the ACT college-entrance exam, and it will start testing the tool in the fall. This will be made available to schools starting in 2014. According to Business Week, the tool tracks students' career interests, academic performance and progress toward goals. It is designed to follow students from kindergarten through high school.
President of ACT's education division Jon Erickson said the goal is to identify and address gaps in skills needed for college and the workforce. The assessment unites traditional testing with teacher-led projects to generate an instant, digital score.
Schools may or may not be compelled to use this new tool. However, Erickson said that he anticipates that entire states or groups of states will choose to utilize it. The tool can be customized to include state-specific benchmarks and other performance measures.
According to ACT officials, it is a multimillion dollar project, but will be affordable and easily accessible.
