Indiana ACT Scores Rise

IOWA CITY, IA - The average ACT composite score among Indiana high school graduates rose this year for the second time in the past five years. The state’s 2007 graduates earned an average ACT composite score of 22.0 on the college admission and placement exam, up from 21.6 in 2003 and from 21.7 last year. The ACT is scored on a scale of 1 to 36.

The Indiana average remains higher than the national average ACT score of 21.2, which has also been trending up over the past five years.

“The latest ACT results show more Indiana students are on track for college than ever before, particularly those who chose to take rigorous academic courses,” Superintendent of Public Instruction Suellen Reed said. “With the state's Core 40 curriculum becoming a graduation requirement for incoming high school freshmen this fall, we expect to see even greater progress in the years to come.”

The current score results are based on 14,257 Indiana 2007 high school graduates who took the ACT at some point in their high school career, an 8 percent increase from last year. This represents 21 percent of the state’s 2007 high school graduating class. More than 1.3 million graduates, a record number, took the ACT nationally.

College Readiness Improves

The score results suggest Indiana’s ACT-tested high school graduates continue to improve their readiness for college coursework. The percent of test-takers who met or surpassed ACT’s College Readiness Benchmarks has grown in each of the four subject areas—English, math, reading, and science—since 2003, showing the biggest gains this year. In addition, the percent of ACT tested graduates in Indiana who met all four College Readiness Benchmarks increased significantly this year.

ACT research suggests that students who reach the College Readiness Benchmark scores have a high probability of earning a “C” or higher and a 50/50 chance of earning a “B” or higher in credit-bearing, first-year college courses such as English composition, algebra, biology, and social sciences, respectively.

Among Indiana’s ACT-tested 2007 graduates, 74 percent met the English benchmark (compared to 69 percent nationally), 51 percent met the math benchmark (compared to 43 percent nationally), 59 percent met the reading benchmark (compared to 53 percent nationally), 32 percent met the science benchmark

(compared to 28 percent nationally), and 28 percent met all four benchmarks (compared to 23 percent nationally).

Importance of Rigor in Core Courses

While college readiness increased according to this year’s results, the ACT results suggest that core courses offered in high schools, by and large, would benefit from more rigor to adequately prepare students for success in college coursework, particularly in math and science. The results indicate that students must typically take additional courses beyond the recommended core curriculum in order to be college-ready.

ACT has long recommended that students take a minimum core curriculum of four years of English and three years each of math (Algebra 1 and higher), social studies, and science—similar to Indiana’s Core 40—to prepare for college.

Among 2007 ACT-tested Indiana graduates who took the minimum number of core courses in math, only 15 percent met or surpassed the College Readiness Benchmark on the ACT Math Test, indicating they are ready to take a college algebra course. By comparison, 47 percent of those who took trigonometry in addition to the core courses met or surpassed the benchmark.

Similarly, only 20 percent of the Indiana graduates who took the minimum core coursework in science met or surpassed the College Readiness Benchmark on the ACT Science Test, indicating they are ready to enter a college biology course, while 52 percent of those who also took physics met or surpassed the benchmark.

Statewide Use of ACT Increases

More and more states are taking steps to help their high school graduates become college-ready by requiring all students to take the ACT as part of their statewide academic assessment programs.

Colorado and Illinois have been administering the ACT to all public school 11th grade students since 2001. Both states have seen improvement in the percentage of their graduates who meet ACT’s College Readiness Benchmarks since 2002, nearly keeping pace with the national gains while testing all students as opposed to only self-selected, college-bound grads.

In addition, Michigan began administering the ACT to all 11th graders this past spring, and both Kentucky and Wyoming will join the ranks next year. Wyoming will offer students the choice of taking either the ACT or ACT’s WorkKeys exams, which measure workforce skills. A number of other states are in various stages of discussion regarding statewide use of the ACT.

About the ACT

The ACT is a curriculum-based achievement test designed to measure the skills and knowledge taught in school and deemed important for first-year college students to possess. The ACT is made up of four separate exams in English, reading, mathematics and science, plus an optional writing test.

ACT scores are accepted at all major colleges and universities across the nation. The ACT is administered in all 50 states and is taken by the majority of graduates in 26 states.

For more information about ACT, visit www.act.org.

Source: Department of Education Press Release

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