BRENDAN BOND
JUN 18, 2014
Reboot Illinois
Illinois is one of a handful of states in the country where all public school 11th graders are tested with the ACT. So how do Illinois’ ACT scores compare to the other 49 states?
Based on 2013 statistics, Illinois comes in the middle of the pack in average composite score, average English score, average math score, average science score and average reading score.
But those stats are skewed because not all of the states above the national average require all of their high school students to take the ACT, as does Illinois. In states such as Connecticut the ACT is optional, so the test scores tend to be higher.
That’s why the best way to compare Illinois’ ACT scores is with the other states in the union where 100 percent of public high school students take the test. Those 10 states are listed below (North Dakota, where the test is not required but was taken by 98 percent of graduates , is included here), and then we filter them out into five categories, ranking them on average composite score, average English score, average math score, average reading score, and average science score.
Compared with these 10 states, Illinois’ ACT scores look much better than they do compared to all 50 states. Again, this is the most accurate comparison of Illinois’ ACT scores since all 10 states in the rankings require all of their public school 11th graders to take the ACT.
Below are the states which require all public school 11th graders to take the ACT:
Percent of Graduates Tested
Colorado – 100 percent
Illinois – 100 percent
Kentucky – 100 percent
Louisiana – 100 percent
Michigan – 100 percent
North Carolina – 100 percent
Tennessee – 100 percent
Utah – 100 percent
Wyoming – 100 percent
North Dakota – 98 percent
Average composite score statistics for 2013
Utah – 20.7
Illinois – 20.6
North Dakota – 20.5
Colorado – 20.4
Michigan – 19.9
Wyoming – 19.8
Kentucky – 19.6
(tie) Louisiana and Tennessee – 19.5
North Carolina – 18.7
Average English score statistics for 2013
Illinois – 20.2
Colorado and Utah – 19.9
North Dakota – 19.5
Louisiana – 19.4
Tennessee – 19.3
Kentucky – 19.2
Michigan – 19.1
Wyoming – 18.6
North Carolina – 17.1
Average math score statistics for 2013
North Dakota – 20.8
Illinois – 20.7
Colorado – 20.4
Utah – 20.2
Michigan – 19.9
Wyoming – 19.7
North Carolina – 19.6
(tie) Kentucky and Louisiana – 19.2
Tennessee – 19.1
Average reading score statistics for 2013
Utah – 21.3
Colorado and North Dakota – 20.5
Illinois – 20.4
Wyoming – 20.2
Michigan – 20.0
Kentucky – 19.9
Tennessee – 19.8
Louisiana – 19.7
North Carolina – 18.8
Average science score statistics for 2013
Utah – 20.8
North Dakota – 20.7
(tie) Colorado and Illinois – 20.5
Michigan – 20.2
Wyoming – 20.0
Kentucky – 19.7
Tennessee – 19.4
Louisiana – 19.2
North Carolina – 18.7
Across the nation, the number of graduating high school seniors who have taken the ACT has climbed since 2004. From 2012 to 2013, the average national numbers in the composite, English, math, reading score and science scores have decreased. You can check out the scoring trends nationally here.
Next article: Low-perform public schools not limited to low-income areas in Illinois.
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Brendan Bond is a staff writer at Reboot Illinois. He is a graduate of Loyola University, where he majored in journalism. Brendan takes a look each day at the Land of Lincoln Lowdown and it’s often pretty low. He examines the property tax rates that drive Illinoisans insane. You can findReboot on Facebook and on Twitter @rebootillinois.