Wisconsin high school students continue to have some of the nation’s top scores on the ACT college entrance exam, but the state’s average was the lowest since 1996.
Wisconsin’s average score on exams given during the last school year was 22.1 on the 36 point exam. The state tied with neighboring Iowa for second place among the 28 states where at least half the students take the ACT. Wisconsin’s score was 0.1 points lower than the previous year, tying the previous lowest score on record from 1996.
One reason attributed to the drop is that more teens are taking the ACT exam even if they don’t plan on going to college. The Milwaukee Public Schools started making all juniors take the ACT in 2010, to determine the percentage of students who are ready for college. Milwaukee’s average score went down that year. It rose slightly in 2011, but the city’s score dropped 0.1 this year to 15.9.