ACT scores are out for the class of 2013. The company that owns the nationally administered college entrance exam has released its annual report on how the scores reflect the nation’s college and career readiness.
Idaho high school grads outpaced their national peers on all of the ACT’s college readiness benchmarks by wide margins.
But Idaho has relatively low participation in the ACT. Fewer than half of the state’s 2013 graduates took the test. Generally, states with high levels of participation tend to have lower scores, and states with low participation have high scores. That’s because the test is voluntary and can cost more than $50 to take. So if few people sign up, they’re likely the students who are most serious about going to college.
Idaho did outperform other states with similar participation rates such as Arizona, Georgia and South Carolina.
A few states including Colorado and Wyoming pay for all high school students to take the ACT. Two years ago Idaho started doing that for the SAT.
Copyright 2013 Boise State Public Radio
