No improvement: ACT says college exam scores are stagnant

WASHINGTON -- U.S. high schools haven't shown much improvement in the past four years when it comes to preparing college-ready graduates, according to the Iowa-based not-for-profit group that administers the ACT college-entrance exam.

The group says only about 40 percent of graduating high school students who took the ACT exam this year show a "strong readiness" for college in most subject areas. Meanwhile, 31 percent of these students aren't meeting readiness levels in any core subject areas.

These levels are about the same as four years ago. The data also shows negligible changes among ethnic groups since 2011, with white and Asian American students still dramatically outperforming other ethnicities.

The study looked at the 1.9 million students in the 2015 graduating class who took the ACT.

This represents about 59 percent of all graduating students. This year, the nation's average score was 21 out of a maximum of 36.

According to its findings:

• African-American students lagged behind significantly in all areas. Only 14 percent of black students taking the ACT test passed the college readiness standard for math, 12 percent in science, 34 percent in English and 19 percent in reading.
• That's compared to 52 percent of white students who passed the college readiness standard in math, 48 percent in science, 75 percent in English and 56 percent in reading.
• About 29 percent of Hispanics who took the ACT passed the readiness standard in math, 23 percent in science, 47 percent in English and 31 percent in reading.