The number of Arkansas public school graduates who took the ACT during high school increased about 25 percent in 2017 compared to the previous year, according to the ACT profile report for the Arkansas public school graduating class of 2017.
The class of 2017 is the first whose results include scores from the statewide administration of the ACT provided to grade 11 students beginning in 2016. Arkansas increased participation in the ACT by 35 percent from 2013 to 2017 first through the voluntary universal program, which focused on voluntary school participation, and provides students the option to take the exam as juniors. The state pays the cost of the exams for juniors in public high schools.
"The ACT results for the 2017 public school graduating class represent a new baseline for Arkansas, as this is the first time the statewide administration of the exam is reflected in the scores for the graduating class," said Arkansas Department of Education Commissioner Johnny Key.
"As we increase opportunities for students to assess their readiness before graduation, we recognize we still have work to do to ensure every student graduates from high school ready for college, career and community engagement."
The average ACT scores for the 2017 graduating class reflect a lower baseline than prior average scores. The average composite score for the 2017 Arkansas public school graduating class was 19.2. The total number of public school students meeting all four benchmarks increased by more than 200 students for in a baseline of 16 percent of the graduating class meeting ACT readiness benchmarks in all four areas.
Arkansas' proposed plan for the Every Student Succeeds Act uses the ACT as one of its measures of School Quality and Student Success. The measures for this indicator focus on each student meeting important readiness criteria and include quality points for a student's ACT composite score of a 19 or higher and bonus points for students meeting established readiness benchmarks.
"The State Board of Education has created an incredible opportunity for Arkansas students," said Arkansas Department of Higher Education Director Maria Markham. "High school students taking the ACT as juniors get a small glimpse of the academic expectations beyond high school and a chance to challenge themselves.
"It is important to note that performance on the ACT exam is not the only predictor of educational success. Colleges and universities are free to base admission and placement on a variety of measures so students who did not score as well as they hoped may still have pathways for college. Arkansas students have plenty of opportunities to work and study hard and achieve a degree or credential."
"The Department of Career Education has numerous resources to help students with ACT testing and a postsecondary track after high school," said Charisse Childers, director of the Arkansas Department of Career Education.
"In the next few years, 65 percent of all jobs nationally will require post-high school education and training, and career and technical education provides professional certification and apprenticeship programs that can lead to high-paying, in-demand jobs needed right here in Arkansas."
School on 09/17/2017