Do you know your state average ACT scores?

[Miss Marple]

I got this in my email this morning:

http://content.govdelivery.com/bulletins/gd/OKSDE-510296

 

Eye-opening.

[AK_Mom4]

Our state is reported as 21.2 average ACT score, which puts us right in the middle of the pack. I did not find that particularly surprising, though. Were you expecting oyur state to be higher? Lower?

 

I am impressed though that 80% of graduiating seniors in OK take the ACT. Wow! We don't even hit 30% here.....maybe it's a regional thing?

[higginszoo]

No, I don't. I am surprised at how my ds's 7th grade talent search scores stand up to these. I knew that he did pretty well, but in comparison, I had no idea HOW well.

[FaithManor]

Michigan - 20.4

 

Looks like Connecticut and New Hampshire lead the pack with 23's.

 

The Journal of College Admissions reported in 2010 an average ACT score of homeschooled college freshman of 26.5

 

However, ACT itself reported in 2009 that the homeschool average was 22.5 which is more accurate. The 26.5 is an average of those homeschoolers that gained admittance to four year universities and at universities that reported their averages to the journal. So, it's a much smaller sampling and obviously doesn't include all of the homeschoolers who took the ACT.

 

My guess looking at 2009 and 2010 data is that homeschoolers probably averaged in the 22.5 range which puts them slightly behind Connecticut's and New Hampshire's averages and on par with California. All of which is to say they scored 2 pts. above the Michigan average, 4 pts. above Mississippi and Kentucky (which have very low state rankings) and almost 2 pts. above the national average for those years.

 

Faith

[Sneezyone]

I'm not surprised. A great public school here would be mediocre in other places. In Arkansas for 2011, 19.9 was the avg. composite, 91 percent take the test. In Washington, my home state, 20 percent take the test (SAT is preferred on the coasts) and the average score is 22.8.

[regentrude]

As long as the percentage of students who take the test is the same in every state, the numbers really don't mean much. In some states, most students, whether college bound or not, are encouraged to take it - in others, only college bound students do.

[Miss Marple]

Our state is reported as 21.2 average ACT score, which puts us right in the middle of the pack. I did not find that particularly surprising, though. Were you expecting oyur state to be higher? Lower?

 

I am impressed though that 80% of graduiating seniors in OK take the ACT. Wow! We don't even hit 30% here.....maybe it's a regional thing?

 

I haven't looked for data to back it up, but around here there are a lot of kids who drop out before graduation. So, those 80% could be the ones who stick it out and are probably more on the academic track anyway. We have a lot who transition into the tech schools here and get their diploma that way - the tech schools don't require the ACT (at least not when I looked into it).

 

My boys were pleasantly surprised at how much better they are doing. It seems that no matter how much we tell them that they are doing better than the majority of their public school peers, they always wonder. This year both are enrolled in our local 4 year university and have been surprised at the lack of ability in their classmates - they attribute it to not trying hard enough; I tell them that these kids have a poor base on which to build.

 

We were talking with a local professor who has been at this university for many years. He says that the last several years have been difficult due to the amount of remediation the students need.

 

I'm glad we can get these statistics...it helps with me gain perspective :001_smile:

[prairiewindmomma]

I'm really blown away by the number of states where such a low % of students are tested.

 

Our city newspaper recently published the statistics from each of the area high schools and compared that to our state average. Our area averages were higher than our state average.

[angela in ohio]

Michigan - 20.4

 

Looks like Connecticut and New Hampshire lead the pack with 23's.

 

The Journal of College Admissions reported in 2010 an average ACT score of homeschooled college freshman of 26.5

 

However, ACT itself reported in 2009 that the homeschool average was 22.5 which is more accurate. The 26.5 is an average of those homeschoolers that gained admittance to four year universities and at universities that reported their averages to the journal. So, it's a much smaller sampling and obviously doesn't include all of the homeschoolers who took the ACT.

 

My guess looking at 2009 and 2010 data is that homeschoolers probably averaged in the 22.5 range which puts them slightly behind Connecticut's and New Hampshire's averages and on par with California. All of which is to say they scored 2 pts. above the Michigan average, 4 pts. above Mississippi and Kentucky (which have very low state rankings) and almost 2 pts. above the national average for those years.

 

Faith

 

I think Michigan suffers from the fact that *all* students take the ACT, since it's part of the MME to graduate. Likewise, I think homeschoolers benefit from the fact that only a certain subset even take the ACT, and those are usually just the college-bound.

 

ETA: If you sort the chart by composite, you notice that the higher percentage of students tested states are all at the bottom.

Edited August 30, 2012 by angela in ohio

[ChocolateReignRemix]

I'm really blown away by the number of states where such a low % of students are tested.

 

Our city newspaper recently published the statistics from each of the area high schools and compared that to our state average. Our area averages were higher than our state average.

 

The difference in the number tested likely has a lot to do with what test the state colleges and universities in that state prefer. The better statistic would be looking at what % of students took either the ACT or SAT or both.

[kitten18]

In some states, most students, whether college bound or not, are encouraged to take it - in others, only college bound students do.

:iagree: It's meaningless. The CA score average is 22 but that is only testing 22% of students (most likely college bound). Other states are that high and they are testing over 70% of their students.

[Murphy101]

That's just scary sad. Those are scores I'd somewhat expect of an entering 9th grader, not a 11/12th grader?

[Unicorn.]

It said only 39% tested for TX. We are another state that prefers the SAT.

[Miss Marple]

It said only 39% tested for TX. We are another state that prefers the SAT.

 

I wonder if those who tested with the ACT were doing so for out of state college purposes. I know that OK (where we have lots of Texas students) mostly uses the ACT for the state schools. They will accept SAT, but the ACT is the most common.