Information Brief 2012-1
ACT College Readiness Benchmark Attainment by Annual Family Income Level
Socioeconomic status is known to have a substantial effect on academic success. The ACT® test includes student-reported information on annual family income. The chart below shows the distribution of students’ family income, and how their attainment of the ACT College Readiness Benchmarks in English, mathematics, reading, and science varies with family income. About 50% of the graduates’ families have annual incomes less than $50,000. Only 4% of students come from families with incomes greater than $120,000.
ACT College Readiness Benchmark Attainment by Annual Family Income Level
| Family Income | Percent of All ACT-Tested Students | Percent Who Met All 4 Benchmarks |
|---|---|---|
| Less than $24K | 21 | 8 |
| About $24K–$36K | 15 | 12 |
| About $36K–$50K | 14 | 19 |
| About $50K–$60K | 9 | 24 |
| About $60K–$80K | 13 | 28 |
| About $80K–$100K | 11 | 34 |
| About $100K–$120K | 15 | 45 |
| About $120K–$150K | 2 | 34 |
| More than $150K | 2 | 41 |
| Overall | 100 | 24 |
Note: Based on data from 1,200,206 ACT-tested 2011 high school graduates who reported family income. This count reflects a nonresponse rate of about 26% and may not be representative of the underlying population of ACT-tested high school graduates.
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