This yr’s highschool graduates scored lower on the ACT college admissions exam than some other class within the last 30 years, showing the toll pandemic-era disruptions has taken on student learning.
The national average composite school for the Class of 2022 was 19.8 — the bottom average rating since 1991, in line with recent data released Wednesday.
“That is the fifth consecutive yr of declines in average scores, a worrisome trend that began long before the disruption of the COVID-19 pandemic, and has endured,” said Janet Godwin, the CEO of the ACT, in a press release.
Roughly 1.3 million students nationwide took the ACT during their senior yr — or 36% of recent graduates. And a greater share of scholars took the exam greater than once in comparison with 2021 grads.
The implications may transcend the lower scores while applying to varsity.
Greater than 4 in 10 test-takers didn’t meet any of the ACT’s benchmarks for “college readiness” in English, reading, math and science — suggesting these students whose highschool careers were impacted by COVID-19 for larger stretches can have arrived on campus unprepared for high-level coursework.
“The magnitude of the declines this yr is especially alarming, as we see rapidly growing numbers of seniors leaving highschool without meeting the college-readiness benchmark in any of the topics we measure,” said Godwin.
The share of scholars taking the ACT varied widely from state-to-state. In some states, including California and Maine, lower than 5% of graduates sat for the test, the ACT data shows.
Metrics from those states come as school systems just like the University of California have ended using the SAT and ACT in its college admissions practices.
And while some college and universities have tried so-called “test-blind” or “test-optional” admissions through the pandemic and made the change everlasting, others like MIT have reverted back to using the indicator as considered one of many when considering an applicant.
The information also showed racial disparities — with black and Hispanic students scoring below the nationwide averages for all students. More white students sat for the exam than test-takers of some other race.
The ACT data on Wednesday is one other in a growing list of studies giving a primary glimpse at how students fared through the pandemic — especially those whose time in primary and secondary school was most interrupted by school closures and the trauma of the pandemic.
Results of 9-year-olds from the National Assessment of Educational Progress — dubbed “the nation’s report card” — showed last month that reading scores recorded their largest dip in 30 years, while math plummeted for the primary time for the reason that test 50 years ago.
This yr’s highschool graduates scored lower on the ACT college admissions exam than some other class within the last 30 years, showing the toll pandemic-era disruptions has taken on student learning.
The national average composite school for the Class of 2022 was 19.8 — the bottom average rating since 1991, in line with recent data released Wednesday.
“That is the fifth consecutive yr of declines in average scores, a worrisome trend that began long before the disruption of the COVID-19 pandemic, and has endured,” said Janet Godwin, the CEO of the ACT, in a press release.
Roughly 1.3 million students nationwide took the ACT during their senior yr — or 36% of recent graduates. And a greater share of scholars took the exam greater than once in comparison with 2021 grads.
The implications may transcend the lower scores while applying to varsity.
Greater than 4 in 10 test-takers didn’t meet any of the ACT’s benchmarks for “college readiness” in English, reading, math and science — suggesting these students whose highschool careers were impacted by COVID-19 for larger stretches can have arrived on campus unprepared for high-level coursework.
“The magnitude of the declines this yr is especially alarming, as we see rapidly growing numbers of seniors leaving highschool without meeting the college-readiness benchmark in any of the topics we measure,” said Godwin.
The share of scholars taking the ACT varied widely from state-to-state. In some states, including California and Maine, lower than 5% of graduates sat for the test, the ACT data shows.
Metrics from those states come as school systems just like the University of California have ended using the SAT and ACT in its college admissions practices.
And while some college and universities have tried so-called “test-blind” or “test-optional” admissions through the pandemic and made the change everlasting, others like MIT have reverted back to using the indicator as considered one of many when considering an applicant.
The information also showed racial disparities — with black and Hispanic students scoring below the nationwide averages for all students. More white students sat for the exam than test-takers of some other race.
The ACT data on Wednesday is one other in a growing list of studies giving a primary glimpse at how students fared through the pandemic — especially those whose time in primary and secondary school was most interrupted by school closures and the trauma of the pandemic.
Results of 9-year-olds from the National Assessment of Educational Progress — dubbed “the nation’s report card” — showed last month that reading scores recorded their largest dip in 30 years, while math plummeted for the primary time for the reason that test 50 years ago.
