Urban Students Make Modest Gains in ACT Test Scores

August 2, 1999

You may download a copy of Gateways to Success: A Report on Urban Student Achievement and Course-Taking, (42 pages, 314KB).For assistance, see these downloading tips.

WASHINGTON, DC—College-bound urban high school graduates raised their average ACT score last year, slightly narrowing the gap in achievement between themselves and their peers nationally, according to a study released today examining the ACT performance of students from 52 of the nation's big-city school districts.

While the national average score remained at 21.0 in 1998, students from big-city districts raised their average to 18.8 from 18.7.

The greatest gains were seen among Asian, Native American and Puerto Rican/Cuban students, all of whom increased their average score by 0.4 point. White urban students raised their average score by 0.2 point, and African Americans raised theirs by 0.1 point. Students of Mexican American background remained at their 1997 score level.

These are among the findings in Gateways to Success: A Report on Urban Student Achievement and Course-Taking, (42 pages, 314KB; for assistance, see these downloading tips) a study by the Council of the Great City Schools, a coalition of the nation's largest urban public school systems, and ACT, Inc., developer of the ACT Assessment college entrance and placement program.

Eight of the 52 urban school districts examined in the study attained average ACT composite scores at or above the national average of 21.0. The higher-achieving urban districts were Pittsburgh; Sacramento, Calif.; Seattle; Portland, Ore.; Tucson, Ariz.; Omaha, Neb.; Salt Lake City and Des Moines, Iowa.

The report, the second in a series, examined the ACT Assessment performance and the college preparation of 56,458 graduates from Council-member districts, compared with 54,789 last year, taking into account the impact of district poverty levels and students' ethnicity, gender and specific sequences of courses taken.

"The gain in average ACT composite score is particularly important in light of the increased number of students tested this year," said Council Executive Director Michael Casserly. "Urban students demonstrate the potential to close the achievement gap with their peers nationally, but we must continue our efforts to enroll more big-city students in a rigorous sequence of courses if we're to see a trend in this direction."

ACT-tested urban students differ considerably in ethnicity from the total population of ACT-tested high school graduates. In 1998, 71 percent of all test takers in the nation were white, while 75 percent of all urban test takers were students of color.

"Urban students have high expectations," said Richard L. Ferguson, president of ACT. "Thirty-eight percent, as compared to 30 percent of ACT-tested students nationally, expect to complete a professional degree. Our task is to see that they understand fully what courses they need to take while still in high school to enable them to fulfill those expectations."

In addition to analyzing urban students' course-taking patterns, Gateways to Success examined the students' achievement in terms of ACT's Standards for Transition, which use ACT score ranges to describe the extent to which students are ready for various levels of college coursework.

"What we discovered," said Casserly, "is that the same portion of urban students as students nationally—one percent—score in the highest ACT score range, 33-36, in English and math, which indicates that they're prepared for advanced courses at even the most selective colleges.

"On the other hand, about twice the percentage of urban students as students nationally score in the lowest range in English and math, 1-15. Those students haven't developed the skills and knowledge most colleges would consider the minimum necessary for entry into credit-bearing courses. One of the things we need to work hardest on is raising these students' awareness of what it takes to be prepared for college coursework."

Urban students' performance compares similarly to that of students nationally in reading and science reasoning. Almost as many score at the highest levels, while the percentages scoring in the lower range are much greater.