Phoenix: Scores on the ACT college admissions test by this year’s high school graduates hit their lowest point in more than 30 years — the latest evidence of the enormity of learning disruption during the pandemic.
The class of 2022′s average ACT composite score was 19.8 out of 36, marking the first time since 1991 that the average score was below 20. What’s more, an increasing number of high school students failed to meet any of the subject-area benchmarks set by the ACT — showing a decline in preparedness for college-level coursework.
The test scores, made public in a report Wednesday, show that 42 percent of ACT-tested graduates in the class of 2022 met none of the subject benchmarks in English, reading, science, and math, which are indicators of how well students are expected to perform in corresponding college courses.
In comparison, 38 percent of test takers in 2021 failed to meet any of the benchmarks. “Academic preparedness is where we are seeing the decline,” said Rose Babington, senior director for state partnerships for the ACT.
