Nebraska and Iowa high school graduates edged out the nation for another year on the ACT exam.
But score reports released Wednesday by the Iowa City-based ACT reveal disparities among racial groups in both states and nationally on the test.
The average ACT composite score for the nation’s 2017 graduating class was 21.0, up from 20.8 last year. Sixty percent of the nation’s graduating class took the exam.
Nebraska’s score held steady at 21.4, with 84 percent of graduates tested.
In Iowa, 67 percent of graduates were tested for a score of 21.9, down from 22.1 a year earlier.
“It’s one good measure, us holding our own against the rest of the country,” said Nebraska Education Commissioner Matt Blomstedt.
The ACT consists of four subject-area tests, in English, math, reading and science. The maximum composite score is 36.
Blomstedt acknowledged achievement gaps, saying that in future years, with all juniors taking the test, the state should reap good data to help address gaps.
Last spring all juniors in the state took the ACT exam as part of the state’s annual assessments. The scores for their graduating class won’t be made public until a year from now.
The ACT’s annual score report, The Condition of College & Career Readiness 2017, slices up score data on the 2 million graduates who took the popular college entrance exam.
ACT officials say the nation’s poor, immigrant and minority students who took the test lag behind their peers when it comes to college readiness.
Officials highlighted the performance of what they called “underserved” populations, those who would be the first generation in their family to attend college, come from low-income families or self-identify their race or ethnicity as a minority.
Only 9 percent of ACT-tested graduates who had all three characteristics — immigrant, poverty and minority — showed strong readiness for college coursework.
ACT gauges readiness by whether students hit benchmark scores in the four subject areas.
Students who meet readiness benchmarks are more likely to go to and stay in college and earn a degree than those who don’t, ACT says.
The benchmarks specify the minimum score that students must earn on each of the four ACT subject tests to have about a 75 percent chance of earning a grade of C or higher and a 50 percent chance of earning a B in a typical credit-bearing, first-year college course in that subject area.
The majority of underserved students, including 81 percent of test-takers having all three characteristics, reached only one or none of the benchmarks.
“While it’s no surprise that underserved students fall behind their peers due to the inequities that exist, it’s extremely alarming and concerning to see how large this achievement gap really is,” said ACT Chief Executive Officer Marten Roorda.
In Iowa and Nebraska, students identified as white and Asian got the highest composite scores.
Black test-takers trailed all racial groups in both states.
Twenty-eight percent of tested 2017 Nebraska graduates met all four benchmarks, compared with 27 percent for the nation. In Iowa, 31 percent of graduates met the benchmarks.
In Iowa and Nebraska, only 6 percent of black test-takers met all four benchmarks.
Nationally, the number and percent of Hispanic students taking the ACT continued to rise in 2017.
Average scores and readiness levels among Hispanic students improved slightly this year even as their numbers increased.
Participation by Hispanic students is on the rise in Nebraska.
The number of Hispanic test-takers has risen over the past five years: 1,831 to 2,514.
They made up 13 percent of Nebraska test-takers this year, up from 10 percent five years ago.
Hispanic scores in those years have held steady despite more test-takers.
Health sciences and technologies continues to be the most popular college major choice among the nation’s graduates, beating the next highest named major, business, by a nearly 2-to-1 ratio.
http://www.omaha.com/news/education...cle_69d0dc5e-f165-5d81-8a72-b1fe0c0f6d8b.html
But score reports released Wednesday by the Iowa City-based ACT reveal disparities among racial groups in both states and nationally on the test.
The average ACT composite score for the nation’s 2017 graduating class was 21.0, up from 20.8 last year. Sixty percent of the nation’s graduating class took the exam.
Nebraska’s score held steady at 21.4, with 84 percent of graduates tested.
In Iowa, 67 percent of graduates were tested for a score of 21.9, down from 22.1 a year earlier.
“It’s one good measure, us holding our own against the rest of the country,” said Nebraska Education Commissioner Matt Blomstedt.
The ACT consists of four subject-area tests, in English, math, reading and science. The maximum composite score is 36.
Blomstedt acknowledged achievement gaps, saying that in future years, with all juniors taking the test, the state should reap good data to help address gaps.
Last spring all juniors in the state took the ACT exam as part of the state’s annual assessments. The scores for their graduating class won’t be made public until a year from now.
The ACT’s annual score report, The Condition of College & Career Readiness 2017, slices up score data on the 2 million graduates who took the popular college entrance exam.
ACT officials say the nation’s poor, immigrant and minority students who took the test lag behind their peers when it comes to college readiness.
Officials highlighted the performance of what they called “underserved” populations, those who would be the first generation in their family to attend college, come from low-income families or self-identify their race or ethnicity as a minority.
Only 9 percent of ACT-tested graduates who had all three characteristics — immigrant, poverty and minority — showed strong readiness for college coursework.
ACT gauges readiness by whether students hit benchmark scores in the four subject areas.
Students who meet readiness benchmarks are more likely to go to and stay in college and earn a degree than those who don’t, ACT says.
The benchmarks specify the minimum score that students must earn on each of the four ACT subject tests to have about a 75 percent chance of earning a grade of C or higher and a 50 percent chance of earning a B in a typical credit-bearing, first-year college course in that subject area.
The majority of underserved students, including 81 percent of test-takers having all three characteristics, reached only one or none of the benchmarks.
“While it’s no surprise that underserved students fall behind their peers due to the inequities that exist, it’s extremely alarming and concerning to see how large this achievement gap really is,” said ACT Chief Executive Officer Marten Roorda.
In Iowa and Nebraska, students identified as white and Asian got the highest composite scores.
Black test-takers trailed all racial groups in both states.
Twenty-eight percent of tested 2017 Nebraska graduates met all four benchmarks, compared with 27 percent for the nation. In Iowa, 31 percent of graduates met the benchmarks.
In Iowa and Nebraska, only 6 percent of black test-takers met all four benchmarks.
Nationally, the number and percent of Hispanic students taking the ACT continued to rise in 2017.
Average scores and readiness levels among Hispanic students improved slightly this year even as their numbers increased.
Participation by Hispanic students is on the rise in Nebraska.
The number of Hispanic test-takers has risen over the past five years: 1,831 to 2,514.
They made up 13 percent of Nebraska test-takers this year, up from 10 percent five years ago.
Hispanic scores in those years have held steady despite more test-takers.
Health sciences and technologies continues to be the most popular college major choice among the nation’s graduates, beating the next highest named major, business, by a nearly 2-to-1 ratio.
http://www.omaha.com/news/education...cle_69d0dc5e-f165-5d81-8a72-b1fe0c0f6d8b.html
