<p>ACT College Test Scores See Their Best Gain in 20 Years
By KAREN W. ARENSON
Published: August 16, 2006
The test scores of high school students who graduated in 2006 and took the ACT college admissions test showed their biggest jump in 20 years, pushing scores to their highest level since 1991. But there was also a decline in the number of students reporting that they had taken the courses that the testing organization considers necessary for college preparation. </p>
<p>Out of 36 possible points on the ACT, the average score nationally for the 2006 graduating class was 21.1, up from 20.9 in 2005 and 2004, and from 20.8 in the two previous years, according to the annual report of ACT, whose college admissions exam competes with the SAT of the College Board. </p>
<p>Richard L. Ferguson, ACTs chief executive, said at a news conference that the score increase was significant and encouraging, and that it represented an increase in skills students would need to do well in college. College readiness increased slightly, Dr. Ferguson said. But we still have room for improvement.</p>
<p>More than 1.2 million of this years graduating seniors, about 40 percent of the graduating class, took the ACT.</p>
<p>At a time when there has been a growing national concern about low levels of literacy and writing skills, ACT said that 36 percent of the seniors who took the test also took the optional writing section that it introduced in February 2005. The average score was 7.7 on a scale of 2 to 12. Girls did slightly better, averaging a score of 7.9, while boys averaged 7.4.</p>
<p>The College Board also added a writing segment to the SAT last year, but it was mandatory. The College Board is scheduled to release its annual SAT results on Aug. 29.</p>
<p>Dr. Ferguson said he was less pleased to see a decline or plateauing in the number of students who took the minimum curriculum that ACT considers necessary to prepare for college: four years of English and three years each of math, science and social studies. </p>
<p>Only 54 percent of graduating seniors this year reported taking those courses, down from 56 percent last year and 58 percent four years ago. Many students, however, do not provide course information, and this year 12 percent did not. </p>
<p>Students who took at least the minimum core curriculum scored more than 2 points higher on average on the overall test than those who did not, 22.0 compared with 19.7.</p>
<p>Dr. Ferguson said the fact that ACT scores had risen anyway suggested that there might have been some improvement in the quality or rigor of high school courses.</p>
<p>He said course quality might help explain why Asian and white students who took less than the recommended curriculum still scored higher, on average, than black, Hispanic and American Indian students who took at least the minimum recommended curriculum.</p>
<p>Scores rose last year for every racial and ethnic group except Hispanics, whose average scores were steady. Males scored slightly higher than females, 21.2 versus 21.0. Both groups saw average scores rise 0.1 percent.</p>