WCS College and Career, August 2025

The WCS College and Career Readiness newsletter is intended to be a place to share useful information with parents, students, teachers, and staff. Students may also visit the WCS CCR site for information; a student login is required to access the site.

Mark your calendars for the Williamson County College, Career, and Community Connections Night. The event will be held from 4:30 to 7:30 on 9 September 2025 at the Williamson County Expo Park located at 4215 Long Lane; Franklin, Tennessee 37064. The event is a time for our students to explore hundreds of colleges from around the country, engage with industry professionals to understand the changing job market, and to experience ways to get involved and connect to the community. All members of the family are invited to attend.

Information about the organizations that will be at the event as well as additional helpful information will be published on the WCS College and Career Readiness Site (student login is required to access) as well as shared in school newsletters.

Eight Williamson Count Schools - Brentwood, Centennial, Franklin, Independence, Nolensville, Page, Ravenwood, and Summit - were randomly selected from schools across the state to be a part of a Direct Admissions pilot program by the State of Tennessee. In November, students in the Class of 2026 who are part of the selected pilot program schools will receive a letter stating colleges, universities, and technical programs in Tennessee to which the students have been admitted based on their academic record without having submitted a traditional application and without an application fee. Some students will also receive estimated financial aid information.

The purpose of TN Direct Admission is to streamline the path to education and training. Students may, of course, apply to any schools that they wish and are under no obligation to take any action from direct admissions. To learn more about TN Direct Admissions, including the participating institutions, visit the website: https://www.collegefortn.org/direct-admissions/direct-admissions-faqs/

The ACT has changed. Beginning in September 2025, the composite scores for all ACT test will be the average of the English, math, and reading subtests. This is a change from the practice of getting a composite from English, reading, math, and science. The science test will be an optional test that students may take on national test dates; the science test is required on state test dates. Students who take the science test will still get a STEM score from the average of science and math, but science will not be included in the overall composite or superscore. While the overall skills testing on the ACT are similar, the format of the test is changing slightly to provide students with more time per question while also reducing the total testing time.

The test that the Class of 2026 takes in October will be the last legacy test format given by ACT; however, that test will use the enhanced test scoring - only English, reading, and math will determine the composite score.

Nationwide, fewer than 3% of students scores are negatively impacted by the dropping of science from the composite score calculation. For those few students who might have been negatively impacted, ACT is proving the option to submit a legacy superscore that includes the science test. Students who were impacted have been notified in their ACT account.

More information about the changes may be found on the WCS CCR site with a student login or on the ACT website.

Juniors and seniors may explore post-secondary institutions and have them count as excused field trips. WCS School Board Policy 4.302 allows for four excused post-secondary institution visits in both the junior and senior years. With WCS Fall Break coming October 6-10, juniors and seniors could consider visiting colleges that might be a bit further away using their independent college visit field trip days on either end of Fall Break to schedule a visit. Students shouldn't forget to get documentation and turn it in when returning to school to get the absence excused.

The Class of 2025 should mark your calendar for September; many colleges will have free applications in September. Some have free applications now. If you are interested in applying to Tennessee Tech, they have a waived application fee until August 15th.

The College and Career Readiness page recently got a facelift. The page has always been a place to land for links and to review ACT tests. More resources are being added to further enhance students' prep. Go to the "Pathways and Prep" section to explore YouScience and career and education pathways. Go to "ACT" and "PSAT/SAT" to explore test prep. More will be added for students, teachers, and counselors to utilize as the year progresses.

The site is linked on all middle school and high school dashboards; it may also be accessed directly at this link with a studnet login: https://sites.google.com/myplace.wcs.edu/wcsccr/home. Take some time to explore.

The purpose of Parent Academy is to demystify some of the post-secondary process and discuss how we, families and schools, can support our students on their journeys. This fall, we will offer a digital option for parents and students to attend together. We also hope to to offer an in person option later in the year.

There is no cost to attend, but we do ask that you register so that we may plan to accommodate any WCS families that wish to attend. You may register for individual sessions. Click here to register.

The sessions include:

• The Impact of Testing, 19 August 2025 at 6:30 on Zoom: The ACT recently changed. We will explore those changes and how those changes might impact next steps. We will also consider other high stakes tests and discuss factors that impact testing and how families can support students as they prepare and improve.

• Pathways, 26 August 2025 at 6:30 on Zoom: There is not one set path. In a rapidly shifting world, we will explore tools to help consider post-secondary pathways - college, career, industry, military,...- while also trying to illuminate some of the steps towards and on those paths.

• Beyond Testing, 2 September 2025 at 6:30 on Zoom: We will discuss factors beyond testing that could impact opportunities for post-secondary success while also considering how families and schools might support that development.

• Writings and Interviews, 16 September 2025 at 6:30 on Zoom: Admission essays, scholarship essays, and recommendations can all impact students' opportunities. We’ll discuss how to get the most out of these writing opportunities. We will also discuss how the writing process can complement the interview process.

• SSS in College, 23 September 2025 at 6:30 on Zoom: This session is based around questions that students with special services - IEP, 504, or other needs - should ask when considering colleges.

• Admissions and Money, 30 September 2025 at 6:30 on Zoom: Each post-secondary opportunity has a cost and a benefit. We will explore those while also considering timelines for applying.

Several hundred WCS students participated in our ACT or PSAT summer classes or workshops. We plan to offer more ACT, PSAT, and perhaps and ASVAB workshop in the fall. Be watching for dates. Reach out to your CCR rep at each school for information about prep opportunities at your school. School CCR contacts are listed on the home page of the WCS CCR site: https://sites.google.com/myplace.wcs.edu/wcsccr/home.