High school students’ scores on the ACT college admissions test have dropped to their lowest in more than three decades, showing a lack of student preparedness for college-level coursework, according to the nonprofit organization that administers the test.
Scores have been falling for six consecutive years, but the trend accelerated during the COVID-19 pandemic. Students in the class of 2023 whose scores were reported Wednesday were in their first year of high school when the virus reached the U.S.
“The hard truth is that we are not doing enough to ensure that graduates are truly ready for postsecondary success in college and career,” said Janet Godwin, chief executive officer for the nonprofit ACT.
The average ACT composite score for U.S. students was 19.5 out of 36. Last year, the average score was 19.8.
I’m interested to know if the number of students taking the test has remained the same. If that number is dropping, it may skew the scores and tell a different tale.
I would expect it to be higher if that’s the case. The ones that wouldn’t take it would probably be the ones not planning on going to college.
Could also be changes in what colleges are looking for. None of the colleges around me used ACT scores when I graduated, I only took the SAT.
Most colleges took both when I graduated, although they seem to prefer the SAT, which was the more popular of the two. I took both and found the ACT to be the easier of the two.