Oklahoma’s average composite ACT score dipped to 17.6 for the Class of 2024, a cohort of students who were freshman during the first full year of COVID-19 school disruptions. Only Nevada was lower, with a 17.2.
The data, released Wednesday, show Oklahoma is well below the national average of 19.4. The maximum score on the ACT is 36.
Just 10% of Oklahoma’s graduates met all four college readiness benchmarks (in English, math, reading and science) compared to 20% nationally. Seven percent met three benchmarks, 12% met two, 16% met one, and 55% didn’t meet any.
Students who meet the ACT’s college benchmarks are likely to earn a C or higher in a college course in that subject.
Oklahoma is one of about a dozen states that tested 100% of students. Testing all students during the school day at no cost to them, as Oklahoma does, removes some barriers students face when considering college.
Most states test far fewer students, and those tested are typically academically advanced and college-bound. ACT cautions against comparing states that test significantly different percentages of students.
ACT scores were declining even before the pandemic. In 2017, the first year Oklahoma required all students to take a college readiness exam in high school, the average composite ACT score was 19.4. Two years later, it dropped to 18.9.
The latest data is available on the ACT website.
Oklahoma Watch, at oklahomawatch.org, is a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization that covers public-policy issues facing the state. This article was originally delivered to Oklahoma Watch's Education Watch newsletter subscribers. Sign up now to receive Education Watch directly in your inbox.
