Texas continues to lag behind the national average on ACT scores, although students have made recent, significant gains – from 20.3 last year up to 20.5 this year. The national composite average on the ACT this year was 21.1. In Texas, the SAT dominates over the ACT when it comes to college entrance exams. While the number of students in Texas taking the ACT is high, it’s still only 30% of all students. ACT statistics ranking Texas students on college readiness are grim. According to scores, only 19% of the students who take the test would be considered college ready in English, math, science, and social studies. When it comes to African-American students, that number drops to 4%; for Latinos, it’s only 7%.

This article appears in August 10 • 2007.

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