Dive Brief:
- The ACT was taken by the most diverse group of students yet in 2013, but only 11% of black students scored "college ready" compared to 49% of white students.
- The test measures data in four topics (English, reading, math, and science), and the 2014 English section had the biggest achievement gap: 76% of white students met the benchmark, versus only 34% of black students.
- According to the company, those who score "college ready" on their exam have a 75% chance of getting a C or higher in a college course.
Dive Insight:
Compounding these results, too, is the fact that these scores are even higher than what would typically be seen since most students taking the ACT aspire to go to college, therefore weeding out the lowest-performing students in a school.
"Education in America is not a level playing ground, and the ACT scores are a stark reminder that race and class hobble achievement, which snuffs out hope, and dogs democracy," Lee Baker, Duke University's associate vice provost for undergraduate education, told the Huffington Post. "The fact that public education systems are funded by local tax dollars and in affluent neighborhoods schools are subvented by private gifts, exacerbates the dynamic. And, only the wealthy can afford private schools and only the lucky can get into high-performing charter schools."
Baker brings up excellent point in terms of unfair advantages that may affect test scores. Another good point to consider: Some students are able to pay for private tutoring or classes to study for the ACT. When score gaps like this are presented, another question that arises is how accurate the exam is in determining college readiness. Some, like Georgetown University professor Anthony Carnevale, believe the bar is too high. "What is often forgotten is that the ACT and the SAT are probability statements," Carnevale said to the Huffington Post. "We know that anybody who scores in the upper half in the distribution in the ACT or the SAT has a very high chance of graduating from college. This is not so much about readiness, it's about graduating. To say that only 20 percent are ready when 50 percent have a chance to graduate is a little stiff to me."