rebootillinois.com/2015/08/27/editors-picks/caitlinwilson/illinois-high-school-class-of-2015s-scores-highest-on-act-out-of-all-states-with-100-percent-participation/44777/
Caitlin Wilson
Overall, Illinois kids’ average scores ranked 22 out of every state (tied with Colorado). But states where all students are required to take the tests tend to see their scores skew lower, which could help explain Illinois’ lower standing overall.
The national average composite score was 21.0, less than one point higher than Illinois’ average, even though only 59 percent of students nationwide took the test and 100 percent (157,047 students) of Illinois students did. Students in Colorado, where 100 percent of graduates also had to take the ACT, also had an average composite score of 20.7. The state with the highest composite score overall was Connecticut, with a 24.4 average among 32 percent of the students who took the ACT. The state with the lowest average composite score overall was Hawaii, where 93 percent of students took the test with an average score of 18.5.
Illinois students tested best in the reading section, with an average score of 20.8. Their average English score was 20.3 (the highest English score among mandatory-testing states), their average math score was 20.4 and their average science score was 20.6. Those scores have decreased slightly in Illinois (and throughout the whole U.S.) since 2011, according to the state’s testing profile:
In Illinois, the scores of the class of 2015 generally follow the trends seen in the rest of the country when it comes to ACT scores broken down by race/ethnicity, according to the ACT’s state testing profile:
Based on Illinois students’ 2015 ACT scores, the testing organization found that Illinois students are slightly less prepared for college coursework than their counterparts nationally. Again, this data could be influenced by the smaller percentage of students who took the test nationwide vs. in Illinois.
The percent of students who are meeting college readiness benchmarks in three of the four areas tested by the ACT is decreasing in Illinois and nationally. Science is the only subject which has seen readiness improve since 2011, though the number of students who have met all four benchmarks has gone up in the state and across the country:
Even though Illinois is testing more than just its college-bound students with the ACT, ACT’s college readiness report estimates that Illinois schools have a good chance of bringing many students up to reaching academic benchmark standards for the ACT in the coming years.
From the report:
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Caitlin Wilson
Overall, Illinois kids’ average scores ranked 22 out of every state (tied with Colorado). But states where all students are required to take the tests tend to see their scores skew lower, which could help explain Illinois’ lower standing overall.
The national average composite score was 21.0, less than one point higher than Illinois’ average, even though only 59 percent of students nationwide took the test and 100 percent (157,047 students) of Illinois students did. Students in Colorado, where 100 percent of graduates also had to take the ACT, also had an average composite score of 20.7. The state with the highest composite score overall was Connecticut, with a 24.4 average among 32 percent of the students who took the ACT. The state with the lowest average composite score overall was Hawaii, where 93 percent of students took the test with an average score of 18.5.
Illinois students tested best in the reading section, with an average score of 20.8. Their average English score was 20.3 (the highest English score among mandatory-testing states), their average math score was 20.4 and their average science score was 20.6. Those scores have decreased slightly in Illinois (and throughout the whole U.S.) since 2011, according to the state’s testing profile:
In Illinois, the scores of the class of 2015 generally follow the trends seen in the rest of the country when it comes to ACT scores broken down by race/ethnicity, according to the ACT’s state testing profile:
Based on Illinois students’ 2015 ACT scores, the testing organization found that Illinois students are slightly less prepared for college coursework than their counterparts nationally. Again, this data could be influenced by the smaller percentage of students who took the test nationwide vs. in Illinois.
The percent of students who are meeting college readiness benchmarks in three of the four areas tested by the ACT is decreasing in Illinois and nationally. Science is the only subject which has seen readiness improve since 2011, though the number of students who have met all four benchmarks has gone up in the state and across the country:
Even though Illinois is testing more than just its college-bound students with the ACT, ACT’s college readiness report estimates that Illinois schools have a good chance of bringing many students up to reaching academic benchmark standards for the ACT in the coming years.
From the report:
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