Scores sagging for high-school grads taking ACT

WASHINGTON -- Nearly two-thirds of this year's high school graduates took the ACT college-entrance exam, and their scores suggest many remain unprepared for the rigors of college-level coursework.

The testing company said Wednesday 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 said a decline in scores was expected, given the changing demographic of the testing population.

"Almost two out of three students are taking the ACT, and what's happened is the testing cohort has become increasingly representative of students at large," Weeks, senior vice president for client relations, said in an interview.

A number of additional states 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 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.