Average ACT Scores Rise Overall in SREB Region
Number of students continues to grow
Atlanta, GA — Average ACT composite scores increased
overall from 2013 to 2014 in the Southern Regional Education
Board region, with 10 of 16 SREB states seeing an increase in
scores. The number of all graduating seniors who took the test
while in high school rose 3 percent. The data were released today
by ACT Inc.
The average score for the class of 2014 in the SREB region was
20.1, up from 20.0 in 2013 — echoing a rise in the U.S. average
score from 20.9 to 21.0. One-tenth of one point is statistically
significant for average ACT scores.
SREB states with average score gains, ranging from 0.1 to 0.3
points, include Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware, Georgia, Kentucky,
Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia.
Two states, Louisiana and Oklahoma, had declines. Average scores
in Florida, South Carolina, Texas and West Virginia remained the
same. ACT results, a significant indicator of college readiness
for most seniors, are particularly important for the 12 SREB
states in which more than 50 percent of graduating seniors take
the test while in high school. These include all SREB states
except Delaware, Maryland, Texas and Virginia.
The current year’s test participation increase of 3 percent in
the region follows a surge in test participation the previous
year. From 2012 to 2013, the number of seniors taking the ACT
grew dramatically in SREB states — up 15 percent. As is typical,
when participation increases, the average score across all 16
SREB states fell during this period. This year’s improvement in
the composite score reverses the decline in performance.
“We are always pleased to see scores rising as more students in
SREB states are taking the ACT,” SREB Vice President Joan Lord
said. “Increasing participation holds promise for greater access
to higher education for more students.”
Nationally, 26 percent of the class of 2014 who took the ACT met
ACT’s College Readiness Benchmarks, which link ACT results to
student performance in college freshman courses, and 19 percent
did so in the 12 SREB states in which a majority of seniors take
the test. The percentages remain unchanged from 2013.
For white and black students, the 2014 average scores for the
SREB region rose 0.1 point, respectively and showed no
change for Hispanic students.
For an analysis of ACT and SAT results from 2008 to 2013, read
SREB’s policy brief, The ACT and SAT: No Longer Just College
Admission Tests, also published today. The brief focuses on the
increase in test participation rates and points to policies that
SREB states initiated that affected these rates. Five SREB states
currently require 100 percent student participation on the ACT.
Others include ACT results as part of their school accountability
system.