ATLANTA — ACT scores held steady or fell slightly in 2009 in the 10 Southern Regional Education Board states where the majority of high school seniors have taken the test — while the numbers of students taking the test continued to grow.
The college-entrance exam also showed that many students continue to need better preparation for college-level work and career training, according to ACT Inc.’s annual release of its college-entrance exam data today.
The numbers of students taking the ACT in SREB states have soared in the past year and especially over the past five years — and this trend likely has an impact on scores. More than 541,000 high school seniors had taken the ACT by 2009 in the 16 SREB states, compared with about 421,000 in 2005 — a growth of 29 percent. Traditionally, statewide average scores stabilize or drop when more students take the test.
Growth in the number of seniors taking the ACT has been most substantial in Florida, from 58,300 in 2005 to 105,300 in 2009. Georgia’s number grew from 23,300 to about 36,200 seniors having taken the exam during the same period. South Carolina’s number grew from 13,900 to 18,700; for the first time more than half of the senior class in South Carolina took the ACT. (Traditionally most seniors in South Carolina have relied on The College Board’s SAT as their college admission exam.) The number in Kentucky grew from about 30,000 to 45,000 in the same period; the state now has 100 percent of its high school seniors taking the ACT.
Five of the 10 SREB states where half or more of high school seniors have taken the ACT saw average composite scores remain the same from 2008: Arkansas, Mississippi, Oklahoma, South Carolina and West Virginia.
The remaining five SREB states in which half or more of high school seniors have taken the ACT saw average composite scores decline: Alabama, Florida, Kentucky, Louisiana and Tennessee. Besides the massive growth in the number of students taking the test, the slight drop in Florida scores could be related to more students who had not passed the FCAT high school graduation exams taking the ACT as an alternative assessment for graduation.
“As a region, we are seeing more students take the ACT and show an interest in attending college. But states still need to work harder to ensure that more high school graduates are academically ready for college and career training courses,” SREB President Dave Spence said.
Too many college freshmen nationally must take remedial reading or math courses before they can begin earning credit toward a degree or certificate. “These are the students most likely to drop out before they finish,” Spence added.
The ACT and SAT measure students’ likelihood of success in college courses and often are used in college admissions decisions. These tests are not aligned with state academic standards in most cases.
This year, ACT is stressing the percentages of students who met its college-readiness benchmarks. The results show that remarkably low percentages of students are well-prepared for college-level English and mathematics courses. Only 23 percent of those taking the test nationally met the ACT college-ready benchmarks in English, reading, math and science — indicating that fewer than one in four students who took the test is projected to make a C or better in freshman classes in these subjects.
SREB is working with several states to improve students’ readiness for college and career training. Using a grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, SREB is helping states (including Texas, Virginia, Maryland and West Virginia) plan for major policy changes that are aimed at boosting the number of college graduates and curbing the need for remedial courses. The graduation rate for full-time, first-time students at public four-year colleges is 55 percent nationally and 52 percent in the SREB region. Graduation rates for two-year colleges are usually far lower.
“At a time when states need more graduates with two- and four-year degrees and certificates from technical colleges, too many high school students do not graduate with the reading, writing and math skills they need to successfully begin work toward a degree,” Spence said.
SREB also is working with states to improve reading and writing instruction for middle grades and high school students. A landmark SREB report released in May by Virginia Governor Tim Kaine (who was SREB Chair at that time) calls for states to make the improvement of reading instruction for students in the middle grades and high school the top priority in public education.
“Unless states work to help schools raise students’ levels of reading comprehension in the middle grades and high school, we will not see high school graduation rates and students’ preparedness for college and career training at the pace many states desperately need,” Spence said.
The reading report, A Critical Mission: Making Adolescent Reading an Immediate Priority in SREB States, has received national attention and is available at www.sreb.org.
For details about your state’s college enrollment, graduation and tuition rates and other information, see the SREB Fact Book on Higher Education 2009 and state-by-state Featured Facts reports, also available at the Web site.
For more information on college readiness or to speak with an education expert about the ACT results, contact SREB Communications.
The Southern Regional Education Board, or SREB, based in Atlanta, was created in 1948 by Southern governors and legislatures to help leaders in education and government work cooperatively to advance education and improve the social and economic life of the region. SREB has 16 member states: Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia and West Virginia. More information is available online at www.sreb.org.
