Kansas ACT scores still above average

Kansas high school students continue to score better on average than their peers nationally on the ACT college entrance exam, though figures released Wednesday show their scores haven’t changed much in recent years.

This year’s average composite score for Kansas students was 21.9 on a 36-point scale, compared with the national average of 20.8.

Kansas ACT scores remained the same in English and science, increased slightly in reading and decreased slightly in math, according to the Kansas Department of Education.

The number of students taking the ACT in Kansas continues to rise. Between 2012 and 2016, the number of students who took the test increased 2.4 percent. In 2016, 24,488 Kansas students took the ACT, an increase of 780 students over 2015.

Seventy-four percent of Kansas high school seniors took the 2016 ACT test, compared to 64 percent nationally.

In addition to providing composite scores on the exam, ACT measures performance toward college readiness benchmarks in English, reading, math and science. The benchmarks represent scores that would indicate a level of preparation needed to have at least a 50 percent chance of getting a B or above in entry-level college courses.

Less than a third of Kansas students – 31 percent – met all four readiness benchmarks in 2016, down from 32 percent last year. The number remains above the national average of 26 percent.

Only 48 percent of Kansas students who took the ACT exam met the college readiness benchmark in math, down from 52 percent in 2012. Seventy percent met the readiness benchmark for English, 53 percent in reading and 43 percent in science.

Kansas Education Commissioner Randy Watson he was “extremely proud” of the state’s students, teachers and schools and said test scores are just one measure of overall student success.

The state’s new vision statement “is about more than assessment results and will require that we work with families and students to continue to grow the entire child – academically, emotionally and socially,” Watson said.

“From kindergarten readiness and social-emotional growth to graduation rates and post-secondary completion, we have to focus on the needs of each student,” he said.

For more information about Kansas students’ performance on the ACT exam, visit www.act.org.

This story was originally published August 24, 2016 at 11:29 AM with the headline "Kansas ACT scores still above average."