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Florida Students' ACT Scores Continue To Fall

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The Associated Press

Published: August 13, 2008

TALLAHASSEE - Florida posted a slightly lower score than last year to continue a steady decline on the ACT college entrance test while remaining mired in 48th place nationally, according to 2008 results released early Wednesday.

The state's graduating high school class had a composite score of 19.8 compared to a national figure of 21.1. Florida's score was down 0.1 from last year and 0.6 over five years.

Only two states, Michigan (19.6) and Mississippi (18.9), and the District of Columbia (19.1) ranked lower than Florida.

In Florida, 52 percent of the graduating class took the ACT this year for a total of 93,884 test takers.

Florida Education Commissioner Eric J. Smith said he was encouraged so many students took the test, but the dismal scores show schools need to put more emphasis on tougher coursework.

"An analysis of the results has shown that students who take more rigorous math and science courses score much higher on the ACT than those who do not," Smith said in statement.

He said a new state law will help because it requires his department to develop stricter academic standards.

Higher participation in the ACT in many cases has meant lower scores. For instance, all Michigan graduates for the first time took the ACT because that state in 2007 began administering the exam to all public high school juniors as part of its assessment program. Illinois and Colorado put similar requirements into effect in 2001.

As a result, students not planning to attend college also took the test. Michigan dropped below Florida.

Mississippi also had a high participation rate of 92 percent and low ranking.

Many better performing states, conversely, had lower participation rates. In neighboring Georgia, which had a 20.6 composite score, only 38 percent of its graduating class took the test.

Alabama, though, had a participation rate of 77 percent and still bested Florida with a 20.4 average composite score.

The composite score is made up for four subjects. Florida's average dropped in three areas compared to last year: English, 19, down 0.1; reading, 20.3, down 0.2, and science, 19.3, down 0.2. Florida's math score remained unchanged at 20.

An ethnic breakdown shows Hispanics with a slightly better composite score of 18.8 in Florida than their national average of 18.7. All other Florida ethnic groups, though, scored lower than their national averages.

This year's scores for the SAT, another widely used college entrance exam, have not yet been released. On last year's SAT, Florida also ranked near the bottom - 48th in math and 43rd in reading - among the 50 states and District of Columbia.

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