Iowa ranks as No. 2 nationally for best ACT scores. | Morguefile
Iowa ranks as No. 2 nationally for best ACT scores. | Morguefile
New data ranked Iowa second in the United States for best ACT scores from the graduating class of 2021.
Iowa's graduating class of 2021 averaged a composite score of 21.5 out of 36 in the ACT, just behind Minnesota and South Dakota, who tied for first according to Axios Des Moines.
“Some good news here, but still more work to do!!! Let me know what you think!” said Lloyd Elam in a Facebook post on Oct. 26 that linked to the data collected for Iowa's ACT results.
The national average score for the ACT is 20.3, according to Yahoo News, with Iowa's score totaling 1.2 points higher than that. In order to collect the numbers, the ranking was made in comparison to other states that have a 40% or higher participation rate.
However, despite scores going up from 2020 to 2021, the higher numbers do not bode well as the number of participants continues to decline, according to Yahoo News. In total, the number of participating Iowa seniors dropped from 68% in 2020 to 47% in 2021.
The drop in participating seniors could be a sign that fewer underprivileged students may be considering college as a viable option in their post-graduation plans possibly due to the disparity COVID-19 has caused in higher education, according to Axios Des Moines.
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