Arkansas ACT Scores Rise

Bucking a national trend, Arkansas’ ACT scores among high school seniors saw an increase, according to the 2012 ACT report.

Roughly 88% of Arkansas’s 2012 graduating seniors took the ACT — a standardized college preparatory test — and had an average composite score of 20.3, up from 19.9 last year.

The national average composite score was 21.1, the same as in 2012.

“Arkansas continues to see improvement in ACT scores,” said Education Commissioner Dr. Tom Kimbrell. “The scores show our students are making incremental progress in getting ready for college, but there’s still significant work to do to ensure the state’s graduates can compete for jobs in a global economy.”

According to the 2012 ACT report:

• Arkansas’s African American students had an average composite score of 16.9, up .3 compared to 2011.
• Arkansas’s Hispanic/Latino students had an average composite score of 18.7, up .2 compared to 2011.
• Arkansas’s Caucasian students had an average composite score of 21.4, up .3 compared to 2011.

The ACT is a curriculum-based achievement test designed to measure college readiness and preparation. The ACT includes four separate exams in English, reading, mathematics and science. There is also an optional writing portion. The exam is scored on a scale from 0 to 36.

“It’s encouraging to see the positive trend continuing, with more high school graduates showing they are ready to succeed academically at the next level,” said Kimbrell. “Although growth has been slow, things appear to be moving in the right direction.”