ACT Scores Over Time by Level of High School Preparation
Graph reads: Between 2006 and 2010, the average ACT Reading score for high school graduates who had completed or had planned to complete a core curriculum remained about the same, but was higher than that of
graduates who had not completed or had not planned to complete a core curriculum.
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For each year from 2006 to 2010, ACT Composite and subject scores were higher for graduates who completed a core curriculum or more in high school than for graduates who did not.
On average, high school graduates who completed at least a core curriculum earned Composite test scores 2.2 to 3.1 points higher than the scores of students who did not take a core curriculum. Similar ranges of higher scores for core or more than core curriculum completers are noted for each subject test: English (2.5 to 3.5 points), Mathematics (2.3 to 3.0), Reading (2.2 to 3.0), and Science (2.0 to 2.7).
