ACT Report Finds Only 1 in 4 High School Graduates Actually College-Ready
A report released today by the nonprofit behind the standardized test used in American high schools to assess college readiness finds that just one out of four students graduating in 2012 were truly prepared for college.
ACT measures readiness across four subject areas — English, Reading, Math, and Science. While nearly three-quarters of all test-takers (72%) were able to meet the English College Readiness Benchmark in a single subject, only one in four (25%) met the benchmarks in all four subjects.
Additionally, over a quarter of all students did not meet the benchmark in any subject.
Science was by far the worst tested subject (31% met the benchmark), followed by math (46%), reading (52%), and English (67%). Compared with previous scores, the results are nearly identical to those recorded over the last four years, with the composite score average holding steady at or near 21 since 2008.