APPLETON, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) – The high school class of 2022 has the lowest ACT score in over 30 years.
The national class average composite score was 19.8 out of 36.
According to the ACT, the average test score in Wisconsin sits at 19.4. It’s up from 19.1, during the 2020-2021 school year.
“Certainly recognizing that last year was definitely a struggle in terms of both student and staff attendance,” said Steve Harrison, assistant superintendent for Appleton Area School District.
Appleton Area School District’s average is 19.3.
Harrison tells FOX 11 the number is better than the last one.
“We also recognize that last year had challenges in terms of insuring every day students had their highly qualified teacher in front of them.”
During the 2020-2021 school year, the average ACT test score for Appleton was 19.1.
“The way students have been learning over the last several years has fluctuated as a result of needing to respond to the pandemic and just having the normalcy,” said Harrison.
The ACT’s data shows 42% of ACT-tested graduates in the class of 2022 met none of the subject benchmarks. Those are English, reading, science and math, which are indicators of how well students are expected to perform in corresponding college classes.
Click here to read the ACT’s full release.
“We know when students aren’t able to demonstrate those skills, they’re not able to pass out of those first year classes,” said Rose Babington, the ACT’s senior director for state partnerships. “They’re more likely to drop out and retain that debt.”
According to Babington, scores have been on the decline for five years.
“I think we’d be remiss to say that the impact of the pandemic on this year’s graduates wasn’t felt,” said Babington. “These were students who were sophomores in March of 2020, so more than half of their high school career was under the shadow of the pandemic.”
Test scores are now optional for first-year students at several universities; although, the ACT is mandatory in Wisconsin.
