Act why

Like other college-bound students, you may be asking yourself why the ACT is important on top of submitting grades and your high school class rank. Standardized college entrance tests like the ACT help admissions committees determine how a student compares to peers from other schools.

Course placement in college and scholarships are tied to ACT scores as well. The ACT is a college-readiness test that measures academic proficiency in English, reading, math and science reasoning. The test takes just under three hours, not including an optional 40 minute writing section. Launched in at the University of Iowa, this college-entrance test is also used as a career-planning tool.

When taken in the 11th grade or earlier, the results can help students work on any learning gaps while they are still in high school. The purpose of the ACT is to determine the likelihood of a student being able to keep up with peers at that institution and earn good grades. Large gaps between content areas like reading and math may suggest an unidentified learning disorder or a deficiency in past educational instruction.

Students with high ACT scores are often heavily recruited and offered merit-based scholarships because they show high potential. Low ACT scores are not a deal breaker when it comes to getting into college. Even many elite, highly selective schools take a holistic approach to admission decisions.

A below-average ACT score can be offset by strong personal essays, good grades, stellar recommendation letters and extraordinary talent. More and more schools are moving away from requiring the ACT because there are many other factors that predict college success. Doing well on the ACT can help you narrow down your choice of schools.

So, how can the European institutions help regulate this issue? Housing and illegal practices in short-term holiday rentals are a concrete example where the rules of the Digital Services Act DSA , currently moving through its legislative process, can help cities intervene.

The DSA was welcomed by cities in December as it included critical issues for cities regarding the effects of large online platforms in urban housing, retail or mobility systems, as well as progresses in protecting digital rights of citizens, and placing data gathered by online platforms at the service of research and knowledge.

Particularly, cities call for changes in the DSA that would clearly state that orders issued by administrative authorities immediately generate execution obligations and establish clear deadlines and timelines for platforms to take down illegal content. Without the cooperation of platforms, we are not able to prevent or to terminate infringements of public law by the users. Cities also stressed how, in a digital age, a regulation such as the DSA would be weaker if its rules cannot be effectively enforced cross-border.

They therefore suggest amendments to give the Commission a more proactive role to ensure compliance of the rules in all member states and to intervene in case of inaction by the national Digital Services Coordinators. They also propose to create a referral mechanism when several Digital Services Coordinators from different member states identify a common pattern of non-compliance by a given platform. The DSA is a horizontal regulation that will impact many sectors, housing being just one of them, so cities are keeping their eyes on it to make sure they get the best result for their citizens.

It remains to be seen how their voices will translate at the European level. Follow the latest from the Eurocities Annual Conference with our live stream and live ticker.

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