Students’ scores on the 2010 ACT college entrance exam inched up in Maryland, Virginia and the District, coinciding with the increasing popularity of the exam compared with the SAT.
In Montgomery County, the class of 2010 scored an average score of 23.4 out of 36 points, the school system said. The release did not include the 2009 average, but schools data show that the average score was 24 in 2008.
Average scores on the ACT college entrance exam for the class of 2010:
CompositeState score English Math Reading ScienceDistrict of Columbia 19.8 19.5 19.9 20.2 19.2Maryland 22.3 22.0 22.3 22.4 21.8Virginia 22.3 22.0 22.1 22.5 21.9Nation 21.0 20.5 21.0 21.3 20.9
Even with a slight decline, Montgomery’s average score is more than a point above the 22.3 earned, on average, for all of Maryland, up from 22.1 in 2009.
“Even as ACT participation has increased dramatically, we have more students demonstrating that they are ready for college and the workplace,” said Montgomery Superintendent Jerry Weast.
Virginia students matched Maryland’s 22.3 average score, up from 21.9 in 2009. And in the District, seniors scored an average of 19.8, up from 19.4. Neither Virginia nor the District made available a breakdown by school or jurisdiction.
Nationwide, the average score dropped slightly to 21, from 21.1 in the two prior years.
The popularity of the ACT has grown over the decade, as many educators tout it as a more comprehensive test of students’ knowledge. Along with the SAT’s focus on reading, math and writing, the ACT includes science and English portions, as well.
In Montgomery County, About 3,100 seniors, or 30 percent of graduates, took the exam — more than double the number of test takers in 2006. About 80 percent of the county’s class of 2009 took the SAT, but preliminary numbers show that percentage declined for the class of 2010.
In Virginia, just over 16,000 students took the ACT, up from just over 15,000 in 2009. In the District, about 1,500 students took the exam.
Virginia Superintendent Patricia Wright said the state’s increasing scores even as “the pool of test takers becomes less and less exclusive” speaks to the strength of the state’s Standards of Learning, or SOLs.
Wright’s pat on the back for the SOLs comes as the state continues to defend its decision to opt out of the recent push for national educational standards in reading and math. Virginia officials have stood by the claim that their current standards are better and more cost-effective than a wholesale switch to national guidelines.
