ERIC ED434915: ACT Average Composite Scores by State, 1999 ACT Tested Graduates.

6 Pages·1999·0.26 MB·English

by  ERIC

DOCUMENT RESUME
TM 030 144
ED 434 915
ACT Average Composite Scores by State, 1999 ACT Tested
TITLE
Graduates.
American Coll. Testing Program, Iowa City, IA.
INSTITUTION
1999-00-00
PUB DATE
5p.; For the 1998 report, see ED 424 306.
NOTE
Numerical/Quantitative Data (110)
PUB TYPE
MF01/PC01 Plus Postage.
EDRS PRICE
*College Entrance Examinations; *Core Curriculum; Course
DESCRIPTORS
Selection (Students); *High School Graduates; High Schools;
Scores; *State Norms; *Test Results
*ACT Assessment; *Composite Scores
IDENTIFIERS
ABSTRACT
A chart presents average composite scores on the ACT
Assessment by state for 1999 ACT-tested high school graduates. The states are
listed in alphabetical order, with the percentage of total graduates tested
and the average composite score listed for each state. Also included are the
average scores of students who completed the recommended high school core
curriculum, average scores of students who have not completed the core
curriculum, and average scores of students for whom no course completion data
were available. The percentage of students tested varied among the states
with as few as 3% of students taking the ACT in three states and as many as
82% of Mississippi students taking the assessment. In Vermont, the average
composite score of 22.9 was the highest in the United States. In the District
of Columbia, the average score of 18.6 was the lowest in the country. A
cautionary note indicates that the list of average scores should not be used
for explicit or implicit ranking of the educational systems of the various
states because the students taking the ACT may not represent the state's
graduates.
(SLD)
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*
Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made
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ACT Average Composite Scores
by State
1999 ACT Tested Graduates
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
Office of Educational Research and Improvement
PERMISSION TO REPRODUCE AND
EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION
CENTER (ERIC)
DISSEMINATE THIS MATERIAL HAS
Thisdocument has been reproduced as
BEEN GRANTED BY
received from the person or organization
originating it.
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Minor changes have been made to
improve reproduction quality.
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Points of view or opinions stated in this
TO THE EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES
document do not necessarily represent
INFORMATION CENTER (ERIC)
official OERI position or policy.
1
2
BEST COPY AVAILABLE
Cautions on the Use of State Aggregate ACT Scores
The ACT Assessment comprises four curriculum-based achievement tests designed
to assess critical reasoning and higher-order thinking skills in English, mathematics, reading and
science. These. tests reflect students' skills and achievement levels as products of their high
school experience and serve as critical measures of their preparation for academic coursework
beyond high school. ACT Assessment results are used by postsecondary institutions across
the nation for admissions, academic advising, course placement and scholarship decisions.
The accompanying list of average scores should not be interpreted as providing
grounds for an explicit or implicit ranking of the various states' educational systems. Students
who take the ACT Assessment are self-selected and do not represent the entire student
population. Further, the percentages of students taking the ACT Assessment vary a great deal
from state to state, as do those students' backgrounds and characteristics. Many factors--
among them, motivation and the desire to learn, parental support, the quality of teaching,
socioeconomic status and extracurricular experiences--contribute to individual and group student
achievement. However, a core college-preparatory program can be identified as one significant
precondition to success on the ACT Assessment and in postsecondary studies. ACT defines
a core college-preparatory program .as four years of English and three or more years each of
mathematics (starting with Algebra I), science and social studies courses.
For a state with a high percentage of ACT-tested graduates, comparing the
percentages and average composite ACT scores of the core and non-core completers reveals,
in general, large differences in overall student achievement and postsecondary preparation. For
a state with a low percentage of ACT-tested graduates, however, the differences between core
and non-core completers are not as definitive.
Cautions on the Use of State Aggregate ACT Scores
© 1999 by ACT Inc.
3
ACT Average Composite by State
1999 ACT-Tested Graduates
CiititieD
41oh=extrei Cointileters::
Total
litdfe. cs
'I.
f,
,,
Average
Average
% of
% of
Average
Average
% of
%
of
Composite
Total
Composite
Total
Composite
Total
Composite
Graduates
Score
Tested*
Score
Tested*
Score
Tested'
Score
Tested*
State
18.4
17.7
33
21.4
2
20.2
65
65
Alabama
'
.:
,1,- e
""- 'xi. twv.: '=
,.
.7.--t.
',-- n.---- .s.-.s
-..,. vs-,
35: :
At. iE; e,-` I
-.21,A,-
.1:
... ,e .
,
,
...
'fir
20.6
19.7
27
70
3
21.4
22.1
28
Arizona
6 -
',20:3,
,..
:19.0''s
17.
,
-
69 ,
.
. -.,_:,,..2.....
_
...............
.
21.3
4
19.6
65
22.1
21.3
31
California
12
-.-
,
-
w
s=
4'
21.5
62 :
Colorado
______
.i...___._1__
.
__
21.4
20.9
16
22.2
21.6 43
41
3
Connecticut
..
,
-
20.5
Delaware'
1
-
18.8
23
17.7
13
18.9
64
18.6
Washington DC
13
,,,,-,,r.,,
--
.1-
162
,21.5
1'6.3
'Florida
20.6
39
,
20
17.7
19.1
20.7
5
76
20.0
16
Georgia
,
771". 7 777
"21.9
18
2116
Hawaii
,
..-
.:
...,
20.8
20.2
49
48 22.6
3
21.4
60
Idaho
20.7
214
46
2
22.9
.19.A
IllinOiS
:
..:
_
20.5
19.4
33
5
22.3
21.2
62
Indiana
19
-
.--,---
-...
,
.
-
.
214
2.
23.0
19.9.
66
Iowa.:
'.. 22.0
,
.
,
.
19.9
44
19.7
3
23.0
21.5
54
75
Kansas
_ _,....
196
21.t
19.4
68
.; 201
Ken
19.2
27 17.0
3
20.6
70
19.6
76
Louisiana
..
..
20.5
-10
4
45
Maii;
21-.9
22.1 v:22.7
.
20.8
5
21.3
25 19.9
70
20.9
Maryland
10
-
2.1.7
21.9
44
15
41 i
v, 223
22.0
6
Massachusetts
20.7
19.7
42
22.6
2
55
21.3
Michigan
69
21.6
63
28
20.4
s 3
64
Minnesota
22.1
TM 22.9
18.3
16.9
37
2
19.8
18.7
Mississippi
61
82
. ...,
.
.
21.6
3
22.7
Misouri .
36
19.6
67
, 61
21..6
,
1999 ACT Average Composite Scores by State, Page 1/2
Totals for graduating seniors were obtained
© 1999 by ACT Inc.
from Projections of High School Graduates
by State and Race/Ethnicity 1996-2012,
Copyright © by Western Interstate
Itonrcincr,
ates Trcrellons
Commission for Higher Education, February,
1998.
BEST COPY AVAILABLE
A
ACT Average Composite by State
1999 ACT-Tested Graduates
Total
Courie,Data
Core Compieters
Nun -Core Compieters
i
-
Average
% of
Average
Average
% of
Average
% of
% of
Graduates
Total
Composite Total
Composite Total Composite
Composite
Tested*
State
Tested* Tested*
Score Score
Score
Score
Tested*
Montana
54
21.8
20.0
56 20.0
23.1
41
2
73
Nebraska
2.L7
.6
67
-203:-
19.
4.,, 31
-
, .
- .
,
f.A.(:.
a '
,,
...J.
.
...... ....
..
A
' 1
- -
Nevada
22.3
21.5
65 33
19.9
19.9
41
2
--'"--7147---
----r-------
222
New Hampshire
..,';'.215
55
5
21.1
New Jersey
34 21.2
20.7 20.3
4
59
20.9
7
-.,--_
__.
-,
213
64
New Mexico
43
18.8
20.1
18.8
°-
_.....
New York
22.0 23.2
30
14
63 19.6
21.0
7
- 32
17:6'
20:4
84
North Carolina
19.4
12
18:9 --
.. .
s-
.
.
. .
,.
22.8
North Dakota
21.4
79 63
35
19.0
2
19.3
..
,
_ .... .
226
21A
36
59
Ohio
19.5
62
20.7
Oklahoma
21.8
20.6
69 45
52
19.2
3
19.8
_ .
..
.
213
37
23.7
22.6
21.0
Oregon 60
11
, -
.
-
21.4
Pennsylvania
69
22.2
26 19.8
7
19.4
5
22.6.
44
3
47
22.9
Rhode Island
22.7
9
,21.8
,
__
......
........
.
.
_
South Carolina
70
26
18
19.9
4
19.1
17.1
19 2
__
.
212
19A
70
19 7
35
South Dakota
22.3
Tennessee
20.9
36
77
62
19.9
18.2
18 9
2
203
182
21.2
Texas
191
3
70
27
31
... _ _..
_
.
21.4
68 43
22.4
20.6
Utah 55
3
21.1
, 45
21.9
40
9
21.1-
22.5
Vermont
15
22.3
...-
Virginia 20.6
21.3
7 67
25
19.2
19.8
7
23A
22.6
56
Washington
22.0
18
21.5
41
.
>
West Virginia
20.2
21.4
58
43
19.3
56
18.7
2
,
21Z
22.3
21Z
67
Wisconsin
36
23.1
61
...
.
.
_
Wyoming
21.4
66
22.6
54 44
20.2
20.1
2
National
21.0
22.0
36 60
19.4
36
4
20.2
1999 ACT Average Composite Scores by State, Page 2/2
Totals for graduating seniors were obtained
© 1999 by ACT Inc.
from Projections of High School Graduates
by State and Race/Ethnicity 1996-2012,
Copyright © by Western Interstate
Infornorkx, ror Jos Trcrolltre
Commission for Higher Education, February,
1998.
BEST COPY AVAILABLE
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