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Students at North Carolina High School continue to rank last in the nation on the ACT exam, but the state's performance is at least partial.
The new results released Wednesday of the 2018 promotion show that North Carolina's average score remained at 19.1 out of 36. The state was below the national average of 20.8 and tied for 46th among the 50 States and the District of Columbia.
One of the reasons for North Carolina's low national ranking is that it is one of only 17 states to force all high school students to follow ACT. Scores are much higher in states where the standardized exam is not mandatory and can only be passed by students wishing to go to university.
But even among the 17 states where everyone takes ACT, only the Mississippi, South Carolina and Nevada have a lower score. North Carolina is on par with Alabama. North Carolina is also ahead of Hawaii, where 89% of students followed ACT.
North Carolina lies behind other southern states, such as Tennessee, Arkansas and Louisiana, which also require 100% of students to pass the exam.
North Carolina was above the national average until the state began asking high school students to take the exam as of the 2012-13 school year. Previously, the SAT was the preferred college admission exam of high school students from North Carolina. But it changed when students could take ACT for free instead of paying to take the SAT.
Since 2013, the average ACT score of the state has increased from 18.7. It is now at 19.1 for the last three years.
The ACT tests English, reading, math and science. Mean scores in North Carolina were 18.0 in English, 19.3 in Math, 19.5 in Reading and 19.2 in Science. These scores are all higher than those of 2013, with the exception of mathematics.
The new findings come as the national average score went from 21.0 to 20.8 for the 1.9 million students who took the ACT. But what was more worrying for ACT officials, is the national drop in the percentage of students willing to take first year courses in math and reading at college.
"The negative trend in mathematics readiness is a red flag for our country, given the growing importance of math and science skills in the increasingly technology and market-driven job market. worldwide, "said Marten Roorda, CEO of ACT, in a statement. "It is essential to reverse this trend for the next generation and to ensure that students acquire the math skills they need to succeed in the university and their careers."
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