Fulton Schools ACT Scores See Slight Increase

ATLANTA, GA -- The Georgia Department of Education on Thursday released information that shows Fulton County schools have achieved a "record high" for its ACT composite score, the system said.

Fulton’s overall composite scores remain high at 23.8, a 0.6 increase from last year. Comparatively, Georgia’s overall composite scores increased slightly to 21.4 from 21.1 last year and the national composite score increased slightly to 21.0. Scored on a scale of 1 to 36, with 36 being the highest possible score, the test is taken voluntarily by students throughout the year.

The ACT continues to grow in popularity for Fulton students as well as for students across Georgia and the nation. Fulton has seen a 15-percent increase in the number of test-takers in the past five years to just over 3,700 students this year. In Fulton, more than 57 percent of 2017 graduates took the ACT while nationally, an estimated 60 percent of the Class of 2017 took the ACT.

While ACT participation rates are growing in Fulton and across the country, SAT participation continues to be higher (SIGN UP: Get Patch's Daily Newsletter and Real Time News Alerts. Or, if you have an iPhone, download the free Patch app).

Increase in Students Meeting ACT College Readiness Benchmarks

Fulton County also has seen an all-time high in the percent of students meeting the ACT College Readiness Benchmarks in all subject areas measured – English Composition, Algebra, Social Science and Biology. Forty-four percent of Fulton’s seniors demonstrated college-readiness in all four areas whereas 28 percent of Georgia students and 27 percent of students across the nation demonstrated this same level of college-readiness. Fulton, Georgia and the nation all increased by one percentage point over the previous year.

The percent of students meeting three or four of the benchmarks also is increasing. In 2017, 59% of Fulton’s students met this threshold, an increase of seven percentage points, while only 41% at the state and 39% at the national level met this same threshold.

Increase in Minority Student Subgroup Achievement

The 2017 ACT results for Fulton’s two largest minority groups saw increases as well. The average composite score for African-American students increased to 19.0 in 2017, and the average score for Hispanic students increased to 22.6.

Similar to the SAT, the ACT is a test commonly used for college admission and placement. It measures English, math, reading and science proficiency, with an optional writing section, whereas the SAT measures only math, reading and writing.

Individual school results and five-year district trends are posted here. Scores are only reported for schools with 10 or more students taking the test during the 2016-2017 school year.

Image via Shutterstock