The state’s graduating seniors in 2014 had a composite score of 20.8 on the ACT college entrance exam, an uptick of a tenth of a point from the year before, according to results released Wednesday.
That score of 20.8 was slightly below the national composite score of 21. From 2009 through 2013, Georgia’s composite score was either 20.6 or 20.7.
Georgia’s score has remained steady even as the percentage of graduating seniors taking the ACT has crossed the 50 percent threshold. Typically, more test-takers mean a lower overall score as the test is taken by a broader group of students that doesn’t only include the brightest and most accomplished.
Far more students in Georgia take the SAT, and a geographic divides still exists where states west of the Mississippi River are largely considered ACT states and those east of the river are SAT states. Colleges and universities consider scores on either test in making acceptance decisions.
State Superintendent John Barge said new education policies and initiatives are contributing to improved student performance.
“Our students’ performance continues to rise on the ACT, and that’s important to us because it’s a nationally comparative measure of their readiness for college,” Barge said. “This is one of many indicators that shows us that our current initiatives, which aim to increase the rigor of our standards and level of expectations for students, are working. They will continue to work if Georgia stays the course.”
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