Kansas ACT scores for the graduating class of 2022 have remained consistent despite national scores experiencing their steepest decline in at least a decade. In addition, Kansas students defied another national trend by remaining steady in meeting all four ACT college-ready benchmarks.
ACT scores are a measure of student academic achievement that test student readiness of college-level academics. Most students take the test as high school juniors, but their results are recorded with their graduating class.
ACT has emphasized that the context around the test scores is especially important as the class of 2022 “endured the effects of a global pandemic spanning across the three years of their education: sophomore, junior, and senior years.”
Kansas students averaged a 19.9 composite score on the ACT; the same score as in 2021
ACT test scores have been trending downward both in Kansas and nationally since 2015. However, 2022 marked the first time that Kansas has maintained/improved its test scores since the start of the decline. This is particularly significant during a year when the national average experienced its steepest decline in at least 10 years.
Kansas is one of only six states that either maintained or increased its composite ACT score this year. The largest decrease occurred in Oklahoma (-1.8 points) while the largest increase occurred in Oregon (+2.4 points). Nationally, scores decreased by 0.5 points from 20.3 in 2021 to 19.8 in 2022. According to ACT, this is the first time since 1991 that the national average has dropped below 20.
21% of Kansas test-takers met all four ACT college-ready benchmarks; the same as in 2021
In addition to a composite score, ACT also identifies scores that are considered “college ready” benchmarks in each subject, which means that students have approximately a 50 percent chance of earning a B or better and approximately a 75 percent chance of earning a C or better in the corresponding college course or courses.
Like the ACT composite score, the number of students that met all four ACT college-ready benchmarks has been declining both locally and nationally since 2015. Yet, for Kansas, the class of 2022 has maintained the achievement level of the prior class.
Kansas is one of only eight states that either maintained or increased the percentage of students that met all four college-ready benchmarks. Nationally, the number of students achieving this measure decreased by 3 percent from 25 percent in 2021 to 22 percent in 2022.
Kansas tested about 2,500 fewer students in 2022
In Kansas, 26,885 students (73 percent) of the graduating class had taken the ACT test. This represents a decrease from 29,284 (79 percent) of the graduating class of 2021.
In 2019, the Kansas Legislature decided to allow all students to take the ACT test at no cost starting with the class of 2020. As a result, there was a 10 percent increase in overall participation from 2019 to 2020. Participation remained high in 2021 before dropping this year. Despite the current year decrease, Kansas is still testing more students than it did prior to the legislation’s adoption in 2019.
Nationally, ACT participation increased for the first time since 2016. Participation increased to 1.35 million (over 4%) for the class of 2022. However, this number is still significantly less than the 10-year high of 2.09 million in 2016.
Final Thoughts
This year's ACT report shows an end to a slide in Kansas test results that began around 2015, after generally rising for the previous decade. State education leaders have suggested a number of reasons for that decline: eight years of school funding lagging behind inflation which cut staff and support programs, more students taking the test after the state began paying the cost, less emphasis on standardized testing by colleges, and the impact of the COVID pandemic.
While the 2022 leveling off is only for one year, it could suggest the impact of several other state efforts, including the phase-in of additional funding under the Gannon decision, a stronger emphasis on planning for postsecondary education under the Kansans Can plan, and use of federal COVID aid to school districts to address learning loss.
Here is a link to ACT information on high graduating class trends.
Here is a link to the ACT media release for 2022 results.
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