Minnesota’s average score slipped from 22.7 the previous year, when 78 percent of college-bound students took the ACT. And the results aren’t good. Forty-nine percent of white test-takers met the three-or-more benchmark, compared to 11 percent of African-Americans and 23 percent of Hispanic test-takers. Given that change, the scores were expected to drop.
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Further analysis of the data also shows a disproportionate number of under-represented students did not take advantage of fee waivers that 12th graders can use to retake the test to improve their scores, a number Cassellius indicated she would like to see increase in future years.
The amount of students who graduated high school in 2016 and took the ACT reached an all-time high at almost 2.1 million – close to two-thirds of the country’s students.
The number of test-takers scoring at the high and low ends showed particular growth, noted the ACT’s Weeks. Science stayed the same at 36 percent, but increased by 1,231 students.
Utah has similar demographics.
Georgia students’ average composite score rose from 21 in 2015 to 21.1 in 2016, with most subject area scores increasing as well: from 20.6 to 20.7 in English, 21.6 to 21.8 in reading, and 20.9 to 21 in science.
Forty percent of students met the reading benchmark, a 1 percent increase from a year ago. The figure is the highest among the four largest districts in Tennessee (Shelby County, Davidson County, Knox County and Hamilton County). In Michigan, students who said they aspired to earn a graduate degree had an average ACT composite score of 23.3, while those who aspired to a bachelor’s degree earned an average of 20.1.
The district’s highest score went to Merrol Hyde Magnet (28.5), followed by Middle College High School at Vol State (24.6).
To reach these chances of success in college, students need to earn a score of 18 on the English ACT test, 23 on the science test and 22 on the reading and math tests.
“We’ve battled and struggled with building a college-going culture”, he said.
“Georgia students are outpacing the nation on the ACT, even as more of our high schoolers take the test”, State School Superintendent Richard Woods said. “Students who took the ACT test this past spring as a junior should contact their guidance counselor quickly to reschedule this one-time October opportunity for the retake”.
Similar could be said for the 17 other states with the same participation requirement.
Among whites and Asians in OR, 55 percent of ACT-takers met college-ready standards in at least three subjects.
The goal is to raise the average score to a 21, which would put Tennessee students on par with the national average. That’s less than half of the national rate of 9 percent. However, the ACT was a choice, and only a third of Nevada students chose to take the ACT, with these student presumably being the best and brightest.
This year’s results place Minnesota students first among the 18 states that provided the ACT to all students.
ACT scores should be used for more than a barometer of schools’ performance, Canavero said.
Georgia students did better on the ACT this year and more of them took it, a byproduct of wariness toward the revamped SAT that rolled out in March and the growing trend to take both college admission tests. In 2001, just 89 students received a ideal score.
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“It is a point of pride that our students do so well on the ACT, year after year”.
