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SALT LAKE CITY — Scores from the 2022 ACT test are in, and while Utah's average composite score went down from 20.3 to 19.9, it remains on top of the national average.
Of the states with at least 90% of students taking the test, Utah had the highest average score in all subjects and the highest percentage of students meeting the college benchmarks.
"We are pleased to see a rebound, even if not a full rebound, in the number of Utah students taking the ACT," State Superintendent of Public Instruction Sydnee Dickson said. "It's important for us as a state to see how college-ready our students are. It is even more important that each student in the state see how college-ready she or he is."
Nationwide, the average ACT composite score was 19.8. An increasing number of high school students failed to meet any of the subject-area benchmarks set by the ACT — showing a decline in preparedness for college-level coursework.
Though Utah remains just above the national average composite score of 19.8, it is the lowest national average score since 1991.
Data for recent 5-year trends show that the average tends to decrease a little each year, but decreased more in 2022 than it has in recent years.
"Are we back to where we were before the pandemic? No, we are not. But we are showing signs of recovery, and that's excellent for students," said Mark Peterson, a spokesman for the Utah State Board of Education.
Nationally, 38% of test takers in 2021 failed to meet any of the benchmarks.
"Academic preparedness is where we are seeing the decline," said Rose Babington, senior director for state partnerships for the ACT. "Every time we see ACT test scores, we are talking about skills and standards, and the prediction of students to be successful and to know the really important information to succeed and persist through their first year of college courses."
ACT scores have declined steadily in recent years. Still, "the magnitude of the declines this year is particularly alarming," ACT CEO Janet Godwin said in a statement. "We see rapidly growing numbers of seniors leaving high school without meeting college-readiness benchmarks in any of the subjects we measure."
Babington defended the test as a measure of college readiness. "Now more than ever, the last few years have shown us the importance of having high-quality data to help inform how we support students," Babington said.
Contributing: Cheyanne Mumphrey, Associated Press
