Autumn 2003 Activity : Critical Need for Better Preparation in Science and Math

The 2003 national score report for the ACT Assessment^® suggests America’s college-bound seniors are largely unprepared for college science and math course work. The results point to a critical need for more students to take challenging science and math courses in high school.

“We’ve heard a lot of talk recently about the inadequacy of students’ writing skills,” said Richard L. Ferguson, ACT’s chief executive officer. “However, it appears that the more critical problems are in science and math.”

Three-quarters of 2003 seniors failed to earn a score of 24 or higher on the ACT Science Test, indicating they are not ready to succeed in entry-level college science courses.

In addition, 60 percent failed to earn a college-ready score of 22 or higher on the ACT Math Test. In comparison, just a third (33 percent) of the students earned scores on the ACT English Test indicating they are not ready to succeed in college-level English classes.

“We’ve heard a lot of talk recently about the inadequacy of students’ writing skills. However, it appears that the more critical problems are in science and math.” –Richard L. Ferguson
ACT’s chief executive
officer

“The fact that so many students are ill-prepared for college science and math classes is alarming,” said Ferguson. “The competitiveness of the United States in national defense, medicine, research, and engineering is dependent upon the science and math skills of today’s young people. These skills are absolutely vital to our country’s future, and far too few students are learning them.”