Massachusetts high school students who graduated in 2021 had the highest composite score in the nation on the ACT test, education officials announced Tuesday.
The ACT is a standardized test used for college admissions in the U.S. It includes English, mathematics, reading, science, and an optional writing test. Students can opt to take the more commonly known SAT, the ACT or both.
Results were released last week, according to the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education.
“The pandemic disrupted many people’s college preparations, but these scores show impressive work by thousands of the Commonwealth’s students,” Education Secretary James Peyser said. “We congratulate Massachusetts students, teachers and administrators and continue to support schools as they re-engage students in learning and planning for their future.”
About 7% of the Massachusetts class of 2021 took the ACT. Of public and private high school graduates who took the test, there was an average composite score of 27.6 out of a possible 36, up from 26 last year, according to DESE.
When looking at only public school graduates, Massachusetts’ average composite score was 27.9. Comparatively, the national average for public and private school students was 20.3, a slight decrease from last year’s 20.6. And, 70% of Massachusetts graduates met all four ACT college readiness benchmarks, up from 59% last year and above the national average of 25%, DESE said in a statement.
Massachusetts students had the highest percentage of 2021 ACT test-takers meeting the math (81%), science (79%) and reading (83%) benchmarks. The state tied with Connecticut for the highest percentage of students meeting the English (81%) benchmark, the statement said.
“While these results represent only a small part of the graduating class, their accomplishments are a source of pride,” DESE Commissioner Jeffrey Riley said. “Whether students are taking a college entrance exam or not, I hope they embrace opportunities to take challenging coursework this year with an eye toward college or a career.”
In Massachusetts and nationally, fewer graduating seniors took the ACT in 2021 than in 2020 or 2019. Across the U.S., the number of ACT test-takers dropped 27% between 2019 and 2021. In Massachusetts, it dropped 64%, from 15,713 in 2019 to 5,676 in 2021, DESE said.
Additionally, most of Massachusetts’ largest racial and ethnic groups saw higher average composite scores for the class of 2021 compared to 2020, the department said.
Asian students and white students saw an increase of 1.4 points in their average composite score (from 29.0 to 30.4 points for Asian students and 26.2 to 27.6 points for white students), Hispanic/Latino students saw an overall 1 point gain from 23.2 to 24.2 points, and Black/African-American students had the same average composite score as last year at 20.9 points.
Related Content:
If you purchase a product or register for an account through a link on our site, we may receive compensation. By using this site, you consent to our User Agreement and agree that your clicks, interactions, and personal information may be collected, recorded, and/or stored by us and social media and other third-party partners in accordance with our Privacy Policy.
Cookie Settings
Use of and/or registration on any portion of this site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement, (updated 8/1/2024) and acknowledgement of our Privacy Policy, and Your Privacy Choices and Rights (updated 7/1/2024).
© 2024 Advance Local Media LLC. All rights reserved (About Us).
The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Advance Local.
Community Rules apply to all content you upload or otherwise submit to this site.
YouTube's privacy policy is available here and YouTube's terms of service is available here.