Virginia Students' ACT Scores Higher Than National Average

Virginia's high school graduates are outperforming their peers on the ACT, according to a report released this week by the Virginia Department of Education

The standardize college entrance exam, which tests students in English, math, reading and science is scored on a scale of one to 36.

High school students across the country averaged a composite score of 21.1 while Virginia students—public, private and homeschooled—averaged 22.3, according to the department of education.

 This is the fourth year that Virginia students have performed above the national average on the tests. Students testing in Maryland averaged 22.1; in Washington DC, 20.

The state's public school students alone taking the test out performed national students as well, averaging 22.2. Of the four students to receive a perfect score in the state, three were public school students.

“I expect additional progress toward college readiness as schools implement new and more rigorous Standards of Learning in mathematics, English and science, Dr. Patricia I. Wright, Virginia superintendent of Public Instruction said this week. 

Additionally, the percentage of public school students who met the ACT college-readiness benchmarks were six or more points higher than the national average. The benchmarks identify students who are prepared for success in first-year college English composition, reading, algebra and biology courses. Thirty-one percent of Virginia students met all four benchmarks, while only 25 percent did nationally. 

“Virginia students continue to make progress towards meeting ACT's college readiness benchmarks even though the testing sample is increasingly less exclusive,” Wright said.

Twenty-four percent of Virginia graduates took the ACT this year, up twenty-two percent from 2010.