ACT Score Averages Drop to 30-Year Low

Woof, these ACT score averages are almost as low as Leonardo DiCaprio’s age preference for girlfriends. 

“The class of 2022’s average ACT composite score was 19.8 out of 36, marking the first time since 1991 that the average score was below 20,” NPR reported. “What’s more, an increasing number of high school students failed to meet any of the subject-area benchmarks set by the ACT — showing a decline in preparedness for college-level coursework.” 

Remember when we all said closing schools during COVID was a bad idea? And how e-learning wasn’t as good as in-person instruction? And how indefinite closures would have serious consequences? Yeah, uh, we were right. 

But it isn’t just COVID that has been driving down scores. 

“This is the fifth consecutive year of declines in average scores, a worrisome trend that began long before the disruption of the COVID-19 pandemic, and has persisted,” ACT CEO Janet Godwin said. 

COVID was the bullet to the head of an already failing school system–that much is clear. What I’d like to know is where all my freaking tax dollars for education are going. I’ll wait. 

HOWEVER, the following stat is one that gave me some hope. NPR also reported “students taking the ACT has declined 30% since 2018, as graduates increasingly forgo college …” 

This I love. I think students are starting to realize college isn’t a one-size-fits-all decision, and that you don’t have to get in massive amounts of debt or have a degree to be successful. My hope is some of these students are seeking out trades or starting businesses instead. Maybe there’s a glimmer of hope in this news, after all.