State ACT scores unchanged from last year

State Department of Education spokeswoman Kim Karesh said the result is encouraging because 5 percent more state students took the test this year than in 2004.

“It tends to be that when you have an increase in the number of people taking the test, you see a decrease in the score,” she said. “The fact that the inverse is true is what we are pleased about.”

A total of 43,974 high school graduates in Tennessee took the test this year, according to a written statement from ACT officials.

The ACT is made up of four separate exams testing English, reading, math and science skills. The test measures a student’s readiness for college. A perfect score is 36.

State results show less than half of Tennessee students tested ready for college level work in reading, math and science.

Nationally, less than half of students tested ready for college in math and science. In reading 51 percent nationally earned scores indicating college readiness, compared with 48 percent in Tennessee.

In English, 69 percent of Tennessee students tested ready for college, 1 percent higher than the national average.

The ACT added an optional writing test this year, but most Tennessee colleges and universities do not require writing test scores for admission.

Nationally nearly 1.2 million members of the class of 2005 took the ACT, or 40 percent of all graduates. The number rose slightly from last year to an all-time high. The ACT exam is the predominant college entrance exam in about half the states, mostly in the middle part of the country, while the SAT is more popular on the East and West Coasts. Most colleges accept either exam.

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On the Net:

ACT: http://www.act.org