MA high school seniors in the class of 2016 scored an average composite score of 24.8 out of a possible 36 points, up from last year’s average score of 24.4.
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Under the previous measure by which Minnesota earned acclaim – the state’s ranking among those in which at least half the graduates took the test – Iowa now ranks first with an average score of 22.1. This score was higher for the first time in state history than the national average of 20.8, which dropped from 21 in 2015.
Among the 29,852 students who took the ACT in 2015-16 while in the 11th grade, 40 percent reported having taken four or more years of English and three or more years each of math, social studies and natural science.
This year will act as a benchmark for comparison to data on the performance of students graduating in 2017.
The number of seniors in Caddo Parish Schools scoring an 18 or better on the ACT has increased by 342 since the 2011-12 school year. It ranked 29th among states overall and fourth among those that test all students.
Comeaux High School’s ACT results track closely with the state. ACT also assesses a student’s ability to succeed in college.
“In recent years, Kentucky graduates – spurred by higher standards and college and career readiness goals tied to Senate Bill 1 (2009) – have realized signficiantly greater gains on the ACT than their counterparts nationwide”, Education Commissioner Stephen Pruitt said in the release.
Also of note: Fewer ACT test-takers want to go to traditional college. But West Virginia and Kentucky had composite scores below the national average with 20.7 and 20.0 respectively.
Less than one-tenth of 1 percent of students who take the college entrance exam achieves a 36, the highest score possible.
The latest statewide averages for ACT scores are out, and for the first time both Missouri and IL have a complete picture of how well their students did.
Arizona State University is the out-of-state school that received the most scores from Utah students. The district’s score is still behind the state average of 20.
The Lee County School District’s composite score was 18.9.
Twenty-eight percent of tested 2016 Nebraska graduates met all four benchmarks, compared to 26 percent for the nation.
Sixty-eight percent of graduating Iowa seniors – 23,132 students – were tested, up from 67 percent in 2015.
And many students are close to meeting the test’s benchmarks, particularly in science, where 13 percent of students missed the mark by no more than two points.
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“They’re not acceptable. I know we can do better”, state superintendent Steve Canavero said about the scores, which fell below those of other bottom-performing states including MS and SC.
