The average ACT test score for students in the class of 2022 dropped to its lowest level in more than three decades, according to data out today. How bad is it? More than 40 percent of high school seniors meet none of the college-readiness benchmarks as decline in college readiness continues among U.S. high school graduates.

“This is the fifth consecutive year of declines in average scores, a worrisome trend that began long before the disruption of the COVID-19 pandemic, and has persisted,” said ACT CEO Janet Godwin. “The magnitude of the declines this year is particularly alarming, as we see rapidly growing numbers of seniors leaving high school without meeting the college-readiness benchmark in any of the subjects we measure. These declines are not simply a byproduct of the pandemic. They are further evidence of longtime systemic failures that were exacerbated by the pandemic. A return to the pre-pandemic status quo would be insufficient and a disservice to students and educators. These systemic failures require sustained collective action and support for the academic recovery of high school students as an urgent national priority and imperative.”

The last time scores were so low was the early 1990’s.

New Jersey’s students who took ACT earned an average score of 24.6, the tenth highest average score among all states. The three highest scoring states were Connecticut, California, and Massachusetts. The three lowest performing states were Mississippi, Nevada, and Oklahoma.

Here are the other take-aways from this most recent administration of the ACT test

• The average Composite score declined by 0.5 points, from 20.3 in 2021 to 19.8 in 2022. It is the first time that the average Composite score has been below 20.0 since at least as far back as 1991.
• Between 2021 and 2022, average English scores declined 0.6 points (from 19.6 to 19.0), average mathematics scores declined 0.6 points (from 19.9 to 19.3), average reading scores declined 0.5 points (from 20.9 to 20.4), and average science scores declined by 0.5 points (from 20.4 to 19.9).
• Slightly less than one-third of ACT-tested graduates in the class of 2022 (32%) met at least three out of four ACT College Readiness Benchmarks. More than 40% of ACT-tested graduates in the class of 2022 (42%) met none of the benchmarks. 
• Participation in the ACT State and District Testing program continued to grow in the 2021-2022 academic school year. This is a trend that has been increasing since 2015, when only 27 percent of ACT-tested graduates took the test as part of a statewide or districtwide administration. For the 2022 graduating class, 60 percent of students tested at least once through the program. The ACT State and District Testing program provides students the opportunity to earn college-reportable ACT scores by taking the test in their own classrooms during regular school hours on a weekday. School day testing availability expands access to education opportunity for all students, but especially for students from low-income families, those who would be the first in their families to go to college, and students in rural areas. 
• For the class of 2021, the college enrollment rate was 57 percent, down from 59 percent for the previous class.