Digest of Education Statistics: 2016
Digest of Education Statistics: 2016

NCES 2017-094
February 2018


Table 226.60. Average ACT scores and percentage of graduates taking the ACT, by state: 2012 and 2016
State 2012 2016 Percent taking ACT1
  Subject-area scores   Subject-area scores
Composite score English score Mathematics score Reading score Science score Composite score English score Mathematics score Reading score Science score 2012 2016
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13
United States 21.1 20.5 21.1 21.3 20.9 20.8 20.1 20.6 21.3 20.8 48 59
Alabama 20.3 20.3 19.6 20.7 20.1 19.1 18.7 18.3 19.7 19.1 86 100
Alaska 21.2 20.3 21.3 21.8 20.8 20.0 18.9 20.0 20.6 19.8 35 53
Arizona 19.7 18.6 20.3 19.7 19.5 20.1 19.1 20.2 20.5 20.0 35 58
Arkansas 20.3 20.0 20.0 20.6 20.1 20.2 19.8 19.6 20.7 20.2 88 96
California 22.1 21.6 22.8 22.1 21.5 22.6 22.1 22.7 22.9 22.1 25 33
                         
Colorado 20.6 19.9 20.5 20.7 20.8 20.6 20.0 20.3 20.9 20.9 100 100
Connecticut 23.8 23.9 23.8 23.9 23.2 24.5 24.4 24.1 25.0 24.1 27 34
Delaware 22.6 22.3 22.4 23.0 22.1 23.6 23.3 23.2 24.3 23.2 14 21
District of Columbia 19.7 19.0 20.0 20.0 19.2 22.2 21.8 21.8 22.8 21.7 32 44
Florida 19.8 18.9 20.0 20.5 19.3 19.9 18.9 19.5 21.1 19.5 70 81
                         
Georgia 20.7 20.1 20.6 21.0 20.5 21.1 20.7 20.6 21.8 21.0 52 60
Hawaii 21.3 20.5 21.9 21.2 21.1 18.7 17.6 19.1 19.0 18.6 27 94
Idaho 21.6 21.0 21.3 22.1 21.4 22.7 22.3 22.1 23.5 22.4 67 39
Illinois 20.9 20.5 21.0 20.7 20.8 20.8 20.5 20.6 21.0 20.6 100 100
Indiana 22.3 21.7 22.5 22.6 21.9 22.3 21.6 22.1 22.9 22.0 32 41
                         
Iowa 22.1 21.6 21.7 22.5 22.2 22.1 21.4 21.4 22.7 22.3 63 68
Kansas 21.9 21.3 21.8 22.3 21.7 21.9 21.3 21.5 22.5 21.8 81 74
Kentucky 19.8 19.5 19.4 20.2 19.8 20.0 19.7 19.3 20.6 19.9 100 100
Louisiana 20.3 20.4 19.9 20.4 20.1 19.5 19.3 18.8 19.9 19.6 100 100
Maine 23.4 23.5 23.3 23.7 22.7 23.6 23.3 23.8 23.9 23.1 9 10
                         
Maryland 22.1 21.6 22.2 22.3 21.7 23.0 22.6 22.7 23.6 22.8 21 27
Massachusetts 24.1 23.9 24.5 24.2 23.2 24.8 24.4 24.9 25.3 24.1 23 28
Michigan 20.1 19.3 20.1 20.0 20.4 20.3 19.9 19.9 20.7 20.5 100 100
Minnesota 22.8 22.1 23.0 22.9 22.7 21.1 20.0 21.2 21.3 21.3 74 100
Mississippi 18.7 18.6 18.3 18.9 18.7 18.4 17.9 18.0 18.7 18.5 100 100
                         
Missouri 21.6 21.4 21.1 21.9 21.5 20.2 19.7 19.8 20.6 20.4 75 100
Montana 22.0 21.1 21.9 22.6 22.0 20.3 19.0 20.2 20.8 20.5 61 100
Nebraska 22.0 21.8 21.7 22.3 21.9 21.4 20.9 20.8 21.8 21.5 78 88
Nevada 21.3 20.5 21.4 21.6 21.1 17.7 16.2 18.0 18.1 18.1 34 100
New Hampshire 23.8 23.6 23.7 24.2 23.3 24.5 24.0 24.4 25.1 24.1 19 23
                         
New Jersey 23.4 23.1 23.9 23.4 22.6 23.1 22.7 23.3 23.5 22.5 20 32
New Mexico 19.9 19.0 19.6 20.3 20.0 19.9 18.9 19.5 20.5 20.1 75 70
New York 23.3 22.7 23.7 23.4 23.1 23.9 23.2 23.9 24.4 23.7 29 29
North Carolina 21.9 21.0 22.3 22.2 21.4 19.1 17.8 19.4 19.5 19.2 20 100
North Dakota 20.7 19.6 21.0 20.7 20.9 20.3 19.1 20.3 20.7 20.7 100 100
                         
Ohio 21.8 21.1 21.5 22.1 21.8 22.0 21.2 21.6 22.5 22.0 71 73
Oklahoma 20.7 20.4 20.1 21.3 20.6 20.4 19.8 19.5 21.3 20.5 80 82
Oregon 21.4 20.6 21.6 21.8 21.3 21.7 21.0 21.4 22.3 21.6 38 39
Pennsylvania 22.4 22.0 22.7 22.7 21.9 23.1 22.6 23.0 23.6 22.8 18 23
Rhode Island 22.9 22.9 22.7 23.5 22.3 23.3 23.1 22.9 24.0 22.8 13 20
                         
South Carolina 20.2 19.5 20.2 20.4 20.1 18.5 17.3 18.5 19.0 18.6 57 100
South Dakota 21.8 21.0 21.8 22.1 22.0 21.9 20.9 21.7 22.4 22.2 81 76
Tennessee 19.7 19.6 19.1 19.9 19.6 19.9 19.6 19.2 20.3 19.9 100 100
Texas 20.8 19.6 21.4 20.8 20.8 20.6 19.4 20.7 21.0 20.7 39 46
Utah 20.7 20.0 20.3 21.3 20.8 20.2 19.5 19.7 20.9 20.3 97 100
                         
Vermont 23.0 22.6 22.9 23.3 22.6 23.4 22.9 22.9 24.1 23.2 28 29
Virginia 22.4 22.1 22.3 22.7 21.9 23.3 22.9 22.9 24.0 23.1 25 31
Washington 22.9 22.3 23.1 23.3 22.4 23.1 22.3 23.2 23.6 22.9 21 25
West Virginia 20.6 20.6 19.6 21.3 20.5 20.7 20.5 19.6 21.5 20.7 68 67
Wisconsin 22.1 21.5 22.0 22.1 22.1 20.5 19.7 20.4 20.7 20.7 71 100
Wyoming 20.3 19.2 20.2 20.5 20.6 20.0 19.2 19.6 20.4 20.4 100 100
1 Members of the graduating class who had taken the ACT test as a percentage of the total number of high school graduates. For example, the 2016 column shows test-taking members of the class of 2016 as a percentage of all 2015-16 high school graduates. State percentages were calculated by ACT based on the number of high school graduates in each state as projected by the Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education (WICHE). Total percentages for the United States were calculated by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) based on the total number of U.S. high school graduates as reported by NCES (for 2016, the number of public and private graduates is projected; for 2012, only the number of private school graduates is projected).
NOTE: The minimum score on the ACT is 1 and maximum score is 36. Data are for high school graduates who took the ACT test during their sophomore, junior, or senior year. If a student took the ACT test more than once, the composite and subject-area scores from the most recent test were used.
SOURCE: ACT, The Condition of College and Career Readiness 2016 state reports, 2016. U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data (CCD), "State Dropout and Completion Data File," 2011-12; Private School Universe Survey (PSS), 2013; and National High School Graduates Projection Model, 1972-73 through 2026-27. (This table was prepared May 2017.)