High school students who took the ACT are getting worse scores than in years past, according to the ACT's annual report.
"Students' average score on the ACT math test dropped to its lowest level in more than 20 years," according to an ACT statement. On a scale of 36, the average score came in at 20.5 this year, sliding down from 21.1 in 2012.
The statement also said the overall score was slightly below last year's, though it was the same as in 2016.
The report shows students who identified as Hispanic and black tested worse than those who said they were white and Asian. Asian students not only tested best as a whole, but their average composite scores this year are better than they were last year. Every other group's average score went down.
This news comes at a time where at least 125 private colleges and universities featured in the U.S. News and World Report rankings have stopped requiring students to submit ACT and SAT test scores, according to the Washington Post. The University of Chicago dropped its requirement in June citing an initiative to help "underserved and underrepresented students" access its undergraduate college.
The report examined the test results of 1.9 million students who graduated in 2018. That number is down from the 2 million students who took the test last year. ACT officials attributed the decrease to statewide testing requirements, according to The Wall Street Journal.
