WASHINGTON — The latest scores from the ACT college entrance exam suggest many of this year’s high school graduates aren’t ready for college-level course work.
In its annual score report released Wednesday, the testing company said only 38 percent of graduating seniors who took the exam hit the college-prepared benchmark in at least three of the four core subjects tested — reading, English, math and science. That compares with 40 percent last year. The benchmark is designed to measure a strong readiness for college.
The average composite score also declined a bit, down from 21 to 20.8 this year. The four tests are scored on a scale of 1 to 36. The composite is the average of the four scores. Many colleges use the composite in admissions.
ACT’s Paul Weeks said the declines were expected, given the growing and changing demographics of the testing population.