According to a March 2011 MetLife survey, 93 percent of secondary school parents said it's important that all students graduate from high school ready for college. When asked if college readiness should be one of the highest priorities in education, 73 percent of parents said yes, but just 54 percent of teachers answered in the affirmative.

Businesses that were surveyed stressed the importance of teamwork. They also rated critical thinking (99 percent), problem solving (99 percent), and strong writing skills (97 percent) as absolutely essential or very important.

So what's the best way to ready students for life after high school? ACT recommends that your student take the most rigorous classes offered at his or her school. Because the ACT is an achievement test—based on what students actually learn in school—taking challenging classes will not only prepare your student for the test, it will also prepare your son or daughter for college and career. For more information about academic readiness, please read ACT's 2010 Condition of College and Career Readiness report.

Source: ACT's News You Can Use