This report, which is anchored in ACT data, focuses on steps for improving the reading skills of students attending this nation's high schools. The conclusions reported are based both on what ACT test scores inform about the reading skills of ACT-tested high school students who graduated in 2005 and trends derived from students who have taken the tests during the past ten years. What appears, according to the data, to make the biggest difference in students' being ready to read at the college level is something that, for the most part, is neither addressed in state standards nor reflected in the high school curriculum. This report offers insights into how state standards in reading can be strengthened and how reading instruction at the high school level can be changed to positively impact students' reading achievement. An appendix provides detailed information on the data sources and methodologies used in this report. (Contains 21 figures and 1 table.)