Fewer students in Class of 2021 took ACT exam

Fewer students in Arkansas’ high school Class of 2021 took the ACT college entrance exam, but those who did earned the same average 18.8 composite score as the Class of 2020, the Arkansas Division of Elementary and Secondary Education reported Wednesday.

Nationally, the average composite score fell for the fourth consecutive year but is still higher than the Arkansas composite.

The 2021 national composite score was 20.3 on a scale of 1 to 36. That was down from 20.6 in 2019-20; 20.7 in 2018-19; 20.8 in 2017-18; and 21 in 2016-17.

A total of 31,152 Arkansas public school students who graduated in 2021 — 97% of the class — took the ACT at least once, the Arkansas education agency reported. That is a decrease of 1,360 students from the previous year,

Arkansas education leaders said most students in the Class of 2021 took the ACT tests in the spring of their junior year, when it was given at no charge to the students.

The 2021 ACT results reflect in large part the testing of students that occurred in early 2020, just before the mid-March outbreak of covid-19 that ended on-campus instruction and disrupted standardized testing, including retakes of the ACT for higher scores, for the rest of the school year.

“While the effects of covid-19 may not be fully reflected in these scores, the pandemic definitely limited the number of opportunities typically available for graduating seniors who choose to take the ACT multiple times,” Arkansas Education Secretary Johnny Key said in a prepared statement Wednesday. “These additional opportunities would have been included in the data and provided a better reflection of student achievement for the 2021 graduating class.”

Key said educators know that there is work to be done to improve achievement.

“Through local and statewide efforts that are currently underway, we hope to accelerate student learning and prepare students for a very successful future despite the pandemic,” he said.

The Arkansas Elementary and Secondary Education division also reported that the percentage of students who met all four readiness benchmarks in reading, English, math and science remained the same at 14% in 2021 as in 2020.

Nationally, 25% of test-takers met the readiness benchmarks in all four subject areas. That was down from 26% in 2020.

A benchmark score is the minimum score needed on an ACT subject-area test to indicate a 50% chance of obtaining a B or higher or about a 75% chance of obtaining a C or higher in the corresponding college courses.

The state agency also reported that the average composite score for Arkansas students who took the test multiple times was 21.3 compared with 16.8 for students who took the test only once.

The ACT Profile Report for Arkansas can be viewed here: https://bit.ly/3FCY89o