West Hartford Students Rejoice: CT Ties for First on Nationwide ACT Score Rankings

The 2016 nationwide ACT college-readiness assessment scores are in, and Connecticut has nearly topped the charts.

The ACT’s test high school graduates in english, reading, science and math to assess their readiness for college. An average of 64 percent of graduates took the ACT’s this year, according to a release.

The test aims to measure what a student learns in high school to determine their academic readiness for college, according to the ACT website. The number of graduates taking the test has increased by 25.5 percent since 2012, while the estimated number of graduates has also increased by 1.3 percent.

The state tied with New Hampshire for the highest score average composite score, with both achieving an average of 24.5, according to a release. Connecticut did, however, have a higher number of graduates tested at 34 percent, as opposed to New Hampshire’s 23 percent.

For perspective, the national average composite score was 20.8 percent.

The state had a notably high amount of test takers meet the English benchmark at 85 percent, a feat which only Massachusetts was able to match. New Hampshire was the only state to score a higher average at 86 percent, while the national average was a much lower 61 percent.

The percentage of students meeting the reading and math benchmark were both at 68 percent. New Hampshire scored higher percentages for both, with 69 percent for reading and 70 percent for math.

Both New England states had 61 percent of students meet the science benchmark, a percentage no state other than Massachusetts was able to achieve or surpass.

The next ACT test date will take place in less than three weeks, on Sept. 10.