The average composite ACT score for the graduating class of 2017 was 21.0, up from 20.8 in the class of 2016, but the same as the classes of 2014 and 2015. Each of the four sections of the ACT—English, reading, math, and science—is scored on a 0-36 scale.
Fewer students took the ACT this year: 2.03 million, or 60 percent of the 2017 graduating class, sat for the test. Last year, about 60,000 more students—64 percent of the 2016 graduating class—took the exam. The numbers mark the first decline in 13 years and the biggest drop in ACT test-taking since 1990.
Black Students’ Growth
African-American students’ performance improved slightly, with 12 percent meeting three or more college-readiness benchmarks, compared with 11 percent in the class of 2016 and 10 percent in 2013. Thirteen percent of the students who took the ACT were African-American, a level that’s held steady since 2013.
“The gaps are persistent and pervasive, and we’re not making much progress,” said Jed Applerouth, the founder of Applerouth Tutoring Services, a national test-preparation company.
