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Only about half of Kentucky 2016 public high school graduates met ACT benchmarks

41% met mathematics benchmark

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Aug. 24, 2016) — Only about half of 2016 high school graduates from Kentucky public schools met benchmarks on the ACT, which scores college readiness of students.

In English, where the benchmark is a score of 18, 57 percent of 2016 public school graduates reached the benchmark, down from 57.2 percent in 2015 and up from 56.4 percent in 2014.

In mathematics only 41 percent of 2016 public school graduates met the benchmark of 19, down from 44.5 percent in 2015 and 41.3 percent in 2014.

The reading benchmark of 20 was met by 50 percent of 2016 graduates, up from 49.5 percent in 2015 and 48 percent in 2014.

The state benchmarks represent the minimum scores that guarantee students entry into corresponding credit-bearing college courses at Kentucky college and universities without the need for developmental education or supplemental courses. (ACT also has its own College Readiness Benchmarks, which are different than Kentucky’s benchmarks, and represent the minimum score needed on an ACT subject-area test to indicate a 50 percent chance of obtaining a B or higher or about a 75 percent chance of obtaining a C or higher in credit-bearing college courses.)

The average overall ACT scores for 2016 public school graduates averaged 19.2, up from 19.1 in 2015 and 19 in 2014. Among 2016 public school graduates, 46,285 took the ACT, up from 45,162 in 2015 and 44,558 in 2014. Among all Kentucky 2016 high school graduates the average score was 19.7.