Nearly two-thirds of this year’s high school graduates took the ACT college entrance exam, and their scores suggest that many remain unprepared for the rigors of college-level coursework.
The testing company said Wednesday that only 38 percent of graduating seniors who took the exam hit the college-prepared benchmark in at least three of the four core subjects tested — reading, English, math and science — down from 40 percent last year. The benchmark is designed to measure a strong readiness for college.
The average composite score also declined a bit, down from 21 to 20.8 this year. The four tests are scored on a scale of 1 to 36. The composite is the average of the four scores. The vast majority of colleges use the composite in admissions.
ACT’s Paul Weeks says a decline in scores was expected, given the changing demographic of the testing population.
Graphic shows ACT scores for 2016; 2c x 4 inches; 96.3 mm x 101 mm;
“Almost 2 out 3 students are taking the ACT and what’s happened is the testing cohort has become increasingly representative of students at large,” said Weeks, senior vice president for client relations, in an interview.
A number of additional states also are giving the ACT to all of their 11th-grade students. “That group of new states showed up in this year’s grad class report so we would have expected it to have an impact” on scores, Weeks said.
Nearly 2.1 million graduating seniors took the ACT, up from 1.9 million in the last school year.
By comparison, 1.7 million graduating seniors in 2015 took the SAT, the other major college entrance exam. The College Board expects to release updated 2016 numbers for the SAT later this fall.
Of the ACT-tested high school graduates this year, 61 percent met the English benchmark of 18 points, which indicates a student is likely ready for a college composition course and would earn a “C” or better grade.
In reading, 44 percent met the 22-point mark that suggests readiness for a college-level social-sciences course. For math, 41 percent met the 22-point threshold that predicts success in an algebra course. And in science, 36 percent hit the 22-point score that predicts success in an entry-level biology course.
In contrast, 34 percent of 2016 grads did not meet any of the four benchmarks. Weeks called that number alarming, an indication that those students are likely to struggle with first-year courses and end up in remedial classes that will delay degree completion and increase college costs.
The report showed a relatively wide gulf, by race, in the percentages of graduates hitting three or more of the college-ready benchmarks. 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. But the gaps between the groups haven’t shifted that much, for better or worse, in the last four years.
When students register for the ACT, they can designate a college major. For 2016 grads, the most popular major selected was nursing, followed by pre-medicine, business administration and management and mechanical engineering.
Other findings in the annual score report:
—Massachusetts had the highest average composite score, at 24.8. It was followed by Connecticut and New Hampshire, both with a 24.5 average composite score.
—In the last four years, the proportion of students saying they would like to pursue vocational/technical and two-year degrees increased by 2 percent. The proportion aspiring to higher levels of education dropped by 6 percent.
The testing company says 20 states funded ACT testing for all public school students in the 2016 graduating class. Those states are: Alabama, Alaska, Colorado, Hawaii, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nevada, North Carolina, North Dakota, South Carolina, Tennessee, Utah, Wisconsin and Wyoming.
The Associated Press contributed to this article.
High schoolers aren’t that bright. I read where some College age kids were asked common questions like “Who won the War between the North & the South” & they get answers like Viet Nam?
How’s that “no child left behind” thing working for you folks? It is fruitless to advance a student to a higher grade (i.e. 4th to 5th) if they are not prepared. They will surely fail even more because they are not at a preparation level for the next grade. What’s better, a student who learned what he needed to learn in his age group and advances to the next level – or, a student who did not learn what he needed to know, is advanced to the next level and can’t grasp the subject matter because he doesn’t know the material that came before it? What a terrible disservice to our young people. They are doomed for failure. When I was in school, if you weren’t ready to be promoted to the next grade, they kept you another year in your present class. Then, hopefully, you were really ready for the next grade level and performed well. Some students just aren’t ready and need a little more time to learn and mature.
Parents can help their children a lot when they are very young. For instance, as a young widow, I had to work and my 10-month-old daughter stayed with a babysitter during work days. The lady had a 4-year old and the two kids watched Sesame Street (I think twice a day) and Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood. When she was 18 months old, surprisingly, she could identify every letter in the alphabet and took great pleasure in showing me her alphabet blocks and telling me what they were. I was impressed and subscribed her to Dr. Seuss’ Bright & Early Beginning Reading Program and she got 2 books every month. We read them often and soon, she was “reading” them to me. She was definitely ready for school and was a high achiever.
Her two children finished high school with 36 college credit hours through the post-secondary education program (a terrific opportunity) and are doing well in college. They will only need to attend 3 years, instead of 4, because they already had a year’s worth of college credits when they graduated from high school. They are on the road to success.
Read to your kids. Play games with them. They learn SO much when they are very young – they will surprise you. Their young minds are little sponges that absorb everything they see and hear.
The Big Government Although Well-Intended, “No Child Left Behind” Program Just Like The “Head-Start” Program Has Succeeded.
Error Correction: “Hasn’t” Succeeded Versus “Has” Succeeded…!!
It.s very easy to blame the teachers when a lot of kids just don’t care, do not show up in class, disrupt the class, do not come prepared or want to learn, do not speak, read or understand English, possibly homeless, “sick”, are lazy, on drugs/alcohol, pregnant, do not study, are allowed to bring cellphones and other electronic devices, and sometimes parents who don’t care or don’t have the time to care. I could go on but I’m sure my message has gotten across. Oh yeah to make sure that I am politically correct this goes on across the races. See I don’t discriminate.
Even if a student is eligible and meets the test score requirement doesn’t mean he/she should go to college. Right now the best bet for most graduating seniors may be vocational/technical school. Instead of going into debt at a four-year university they should consider a one or two year vocational course with a guaranteed high-paying job after graduation. And a truck driving course can take as little as 3 months! Compare that to a four year university degree with no meaningful job and huge debt.
No measure of American History! A major void in our society today.