Hunter
10/30/19
ACT scores continue to drop in Iowa, but they’re still tops in the country, according to a report released this morning.
The Press-Citizen reports that the average score has gradually declined over the last five years among high school graduates in Iowa and the nation as a whole, indicating that American students are less prepared for college than previous generations.
The 2019 Condition of College and Career Readiness report says the average score of 22.2 in 2015 is down to 21.6 in 2019. That ties Iowa with South Dakota for best in the nation. The national average over the same period has dropped from 21 to 20.7.
In a statement from her office, governor Kim Reynolds says the results “reflect our commitment to education and the need to do even more to better prepare our young people for the future.”
ACT officials say the declines are coming particularly in Math and English scores.
Additionally, the report says that the number of students who fail to reach any test benchmark that indicate that they would be able to get a “B” grade in college went up from 20 percent in 2015 to 25 percent this year.
ACT recently announced that students next fall will be able to retake specific sections of the test instead of the whole test, and a “superscore” will be given to show the best overall performances.