Topeka — Kansas high school students will now receive ACT college-entrance exam score projections with their state test results.

The University of Kansas’ Center for Educational Testing and Evaluation studied the correlation between 10th grade assessments and ACT scores, and the state Board of Education evaluated the results of the analysis this month.

Ten school districts participated in the study, including five of the state’s six largest districts, the Topeka Capital-Journal reported. CETE director Kris Kaase said after evaluating nearly 5,400 students’ state math and reading assessment scores, the center found the data aligns with the ACT when it comes to a student’s college preparedness.

Education commissioner Randy Watson said students who take 10th grade assessments in the future will now receive ACT projection information with their test scores.

“We wanted them to have some predictability early in high school as to how they could score,” Watson said. “We thought it was an important service.”

The ACT has a scoring scale ranging from 1 to 36, and each subject has a benchmark score that if a student reaches, he or she has a 75 percent likelihood of earning a C or better in similar introductory-level college courses. The state’s math and English tests have a scoring scale ranging from 1 to 4, and if a student scores a 3 or 4 on the tests then he or she is projected to hit or surpass the benchmarks for the equivalent ACT subjects.

Education officials said they hope this information will be useful for parents and students to make decisions such as which courses to take in high school. The education department hopes to eventually give families correlation data for other tests too, such as their children’s SAT college-entrance exam and the ASVAB military enlistment exam.