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MarketWatch
ACT scores show drop
in college readiness, especially math
By Tawnell D. Hobbs
Oct 17, 2018
A greater percentage of U.S. high-school graduates who took the ACT
college-entrance exam aren’t ready for college-level coursework, with
math readiness at a 14-year low.
ACT on Wednesday released its annual report, the Condition of College
and Career Readiness, that shows only 40% of 2018 graduates taking the
ACT met a benchmark indicating they could succeed in a first-year
college algebra class. That is down from 41% last year and a high of
46% in 2012.
The percentage of students meeting college-ready benchmarks dropped
slightly in all subjects tested—English, math, reading and science.
“Math specifically concerns me in a society that’s becoming more and
more technological,” said ACT Chief Executive Marten Roorda. “The
economy needs more students with STEM (science, technology, engineering
and math) education, and good math skills are vital to the STEM
orientation. There is a high risk for the U.S. economy coming to a
slowdown or a standstill.”
Roorda said the math curriculum needs to be modernized with more time
dedicated to the subject in schools.
The report looked at results from 1.9 million graduates that took the
ACT test, just over half of the 2018 graduating class. That is down
slightly from last year when just over 2 million took the test, or 60%
of the graduating class. ACT officials said the decrease is primarily
due to changes in statewide testing.
In all, 35% of graduates met none of the four ACT benchmarks that
determine college readiness in subject areas, up from 33% last year.
Read this and other articles, plus an expanded ACT report, at MarketWatch
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