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Nebraska High School Grads Continue to Outscore Peers on ACT

Posted: 9:32 AM Aug 22, 2012
Reporter: Courtesy: Nebraska Department of Education

Nebraska’s 2012 high school graduates scored higher than their peers nationally on the ACT college entrance exam and also outpaced other graduates in English, reading, mathematics and science scores that measure college readiness.

In the four areas that ACT used to determine college readiness, Nebraska high school graduates scored higher than graduates in other states in each subject:

· 75 percent met the English goal, compared to 67 percent nationally.
· 59 percent tested ready in reading, compared to 52 percent nationally.
· 51 percent met the mathematics benchmark, compared to 46 percent nationally.
· 36 percent tested ready in science, compared to 31 percent nationally.

The state’s high school graduates scored on average 22, compared to 21.1 nationally. Nebraska students have a long tradition of outscoring their peers across the country on the ACT.

The 2012 ACT scores released today showed that Nebraska’s average ACT score of 22 dropped slightly from 22.1 last year. The highest possible ACT score is 36.

Of the 18 states with 75 percent or more graduates taking the ACT, Nebraska scored at the top, with 78 percent or 16,581 graduates taking the ACT exam.