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July 6, 2006 North Dakota’s ACT Scores are Above the National Average Of the 2005 North Dakota public high school graduates who went through the American College Testing (ACT) assessment, the average composite ACT score was 21.3 out of a possible 36. Nationally, the composite score for ACT-tested 2005 graduates was slightly lower at 20.9. This month’s “Population Bulletin,” a monthly publication from the North Dakota State Data Center at North Dakota State University, focuses on ACT program scores released by ACT, Inc. ACT scores are designed to predict a student’s potential for success in college. According to ACT, 82 percent of North Dakota students graduating from public high school in the spring of 2005 took the ACT assessment during their sophomore, junior or senior year. This proportion is up from 75 percent in 1994. If a student was tested more than once, only the most recent test record was used. ACT composite scores for North Dakota students have remained relatively consistent during the past five years, ranging from 21.2 to 21.4. 2005 female graduates scored slightly better on their ACTs than males in North Dakota. The average ACT composite score for 2005 female graduates in the state was 21.3 compared with 21.2 for males. According to ACT, 6,562 high school graduates (2005) were tested out of a possible 8,008. Of the two largest racial groups in the state, white graduates averaged 21.5 and American Indian and Alaska Native graduates averaged 17.5. Average ACT composite scores for other minority 2005 graduates were 21.5 for Asian-American and Pacific Islanders, 17.6 for African-American or blacks and 19.2 for those of Hispanic origin of any race. Within North Dakota, the 2005 graduates of Griggs County had the highest average ACT composite score in the state at 23, followed by graduates of Cass County (22.3) and Grand Forks County (22.1). Fifteen North Dakota counties had ACT composite scores above the state average of 21.3. Two counties, Dickey and Williams, had the same score as the state average, and 34 counties had lower scores (Billings and Slope counties do not have public high schools). ACT has developed benchmarks to measure what it takes to be successful in standard first-year college courses in the areas of English, math, reading and science. According to these benchmarks, 69.2 percent of ACT-tested 2005 North Dakota public high school graduates were ready for college English, 44.8 percent were ready for college math, 52.4 percent were ready for college reading and 29.4 percent were ready for college science. “These data highlight both strengths and challenges within our state’s secondary education system,” says Richard Rathge, State Data Center director. “Overall, the scores should reinforce our belief that North Dakota high school students, in general, are performing above national levels. However, what is most disturbing is the unevenness in school readiness across the state by race and subject matter. Hopefully, these data will serve as a wake-up call to encourage us to seek solutions.” ### Source: Richard
Rathge, (701) 231-8621, richard.rathge@ndsu.edu
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