Students Are Taking the ACT Earlier in High School
As more students take the ACT in preparation for college, a greater share of them are taking the test earlier in their high school careers. In 2005, two out of three students took the ACT for the first time before the 12th grade. By 2014, three out of four students first tested before the 12th grade. This upward trend in the share of students testing earlier in high school is explained only in part by the administration of the ACT to all 11th graders in nine new states over the past decade. Even across states that have not administered the ACT statewide, the share of students who first tested before the 12th grade has increased from 59% to 64% between 2005 and 2014.
Figure 3. Percent Testing Before 12th Grade, 2005-2014
Figure 3. Percent Testing Before 12th Grade, 2005-2014
High School Graduation Year | All States | Non-Statewide |
---|---|---|
2005 | 66% | 59% |
2006 | 64% | 56% |
2007 | 64% | 57% |
2008 | 67% | 58% |
2009 | 68% | 58% |
2010 | 70% | 60% |
2011 | 70% | 61% |
2012 | 72% | 63% |
2013 | 75% | 65% |
2014 | 75% | 64% |
This upward trend is evident across all regions of the country, especially within states that have had a relatively large increase in ACT participation rates. Over the past decade, there has been a consistently strong negative relationship between a state’s ACT participation rate and the grade level in which students first take the ACT, such that students in states with lower participation rates generally test later and students in states with higher participation rates generally test earlier. Figure 4 shows this relationship for the ACT-tested high school graduating class of 2014. As seen in the figure, states with lower ACT participation rates (horizontal axis) tend to have a larger percentage of students first test as 12th graders (vertical axis), whereas states with higher ACT participation rates tend to have a smaller percentage of students first test as 12th graders. States in the Northeast are clustered in the upper-left area of the figure, having both lower participation rates and higher 12th grade first-testing rates. Many states in the Midwest are clustered in the lower-right area of the figure, having both higher ACT participation rates and lower 12th grade first-testing rates.
Figure 4. 12th Grade First-Test-Taking Rate by State ACT Participation Rate, 2014
Figure 4. 12th Grade First-Test-Taking Rate by State ACT Participation Rate, 2014
Region | State | Participation Rate | 12th Grade First-Testing Rate |
---|---|---|---|
Midwest | Illinois | 100% | 2.8% |
Midwest | Indiana | 40% | 34.9% |
Midwest | Iowa | 68% | 24.1% |
Midwest | Kansas | 75% | 25.1% |
Midwest | Michigan | 100% | 4.5% |
Midwest | Minnesota | 76% | 19.4% |
Midwest | Missouri | 76% | 24.9% |
Midwest | Nebraska | 86% | 18.9% |
Midwest | North Dakota | 100% | 2.6% |
Midwest | Ohio | 72% | 27.5% |
Midwest | South Dakota | 78% | 27.9% |
Midwest | Wisconsin | 73% | 15.2% |
Northeast | Connecticut | 29% | 34.1% |
Northeast | Maine | 9% | 53.9% |
Northeast | Massachusetts | 23% | 39.0% |
Northeast | New Hampshire | 20% | 44.4% |
Northeast | New Jersey | 25% | 35.6% |
Northeast | New York | 27% | 38.0% |
Northeast | Pennsylvania | 19% | 42.2% |
Northeast | Rhode Island | 16% | 47.1% |
Northeast | Vermont | 29% | 31.3% |
South | Alabama | 80% | 28.7% |
South | Arkansas | 93% | 20.3% |
South | Delaware | 18% | 53.8% |
South | District of Columbia | 37% | 43.4% |
South | Florida | 81% | 43.4% |
South | Georgia | 53% | 55.2% |
South | Kentucky | 100% | 2.8% |
South | Louisiana | 100% | 7.8% |
South | Maryland | 22% | 48.0% |
South | Mississippi | 100% | 34.8% |
South | North Carolina | 100% | 2.2% |
South | Oklahoma | 75% | 29.1% |
South | South Carolina | 58% | 43.9% |
South | Tennessee | 100% | 6.5% |
South | Texas | 40% | 45.8% |
South | Virginia | 28% | 52.9% |
South | West Virginia | 65% | 44.1% |
West | Alaska | 37% | 62.5% |
West | Arizona | 55% | 21.9% |
West | California | 29% | 47.6% |
West | Colorado | 100% | 2.9% |
West | Hawaii | 90% | 7.8% |
West | Idaho | 45% | 45.3% |
West | Montana | 100% | 4.4% |
West | Nevada | 36% | 53.6% |
West | New Mexico | 69% | 47.2% |
West | Oregon | 36% | 18.0% |
West | Utah | 100% | 9.3% |
West | Washington | 22% | 44.5% |
West | Wyoming | 100% | 3.3% |
Note: The trend line in Figure 4 shows a negative relationship. A correlation of –0.81 (out of a range of –1 to 1) suggests that the strength of the negative relationship between ACT participation rate and 12th grade first-test-taking rate is large in magnitude.
Although today’s students are generally testing earlier, many students still wait until their senior year to take the ACT for the first time (see Table 1). Students who test for the first time later in high school are more likely to be lower achieving and have lower degree aspirations, come from families with less-educated parents and lower incomes, and be members of traditionally underrepresented racial/ethnic minority groups (i.e., African American, American Indian, and Hispanic).
Table 1. Which Non-Statewide Students Test for the First Time as 12th Graders?
More Likely to First Test in 12th | Less Likely to First Test in 12th |
---|---|
Lower-achieving students | Higher-achieving students |
Students with lower degree aspirations | Students with higher degree aspirations |
Students with lower family incomes | Students with higher family incomes |
Students with less highly educated parents | Students with more highly educated parents |
African Americans, American Indians, and Hispanics | Students from other racial/ethnic groups |