Updated at 10:20 a.m., Wednesday, August 15, 2007
Hawaii students top ACT exam's national averages
Advertiser Staff
In a year when the national ACT Assessment average scores rose across the board, the scores of Hawai'i's college-bound public and private school students in the Class of 2007 also improved — continuing to exceed the national average on the composite score and all four subtests for the seventh consecutive year.ACT only reports results for entire states, so these results represent all students in Hawai'is public and private schools who selected to take the test, according to a news release issued by the state Department of Education.
Hawai'i's ACT-tested students earned an average composite score of 22.3 out of a possible 36.0, compared to the national average of 21.2. State averages ranged from 18.9 (Mississippi) to 23.5 (Massachusetts).
Hawai'i's subtest average scores were: English, 21.6 (national average, 20.7); math, 22.9 (national average, 21.0); reading, 22.2 (national average, 21.5); and science reasoning 21.9 (national average, 21.0).
Last year's average composite score for Hawai'i was 21.9, compared to the national average of 21.1.
Colleges and universities use the ACT to assess high school students' general educational development and their ability to complete college-level work. High school students who take rigorous academic courses generally have higher ACT scores.
The number of Hawai'i students who took the ACT increased from 2,260 in 2006 to 2,589 in 2007, or 19.8 percent of all graduates. Nationally, 1,300,599 in the Class of 2007 took the ACT, or 41.8 percent of all graduates.
