November 4, 2018
By: Dwayne Page
Tennessee public school students have once again broken the previous year’s record by earning an average composite score of 20.2 on the ACT in 2018, up from 20.1 in 2017.
DeKalb County’s average composite ACT score remained unchanged at 18.8 for both 2017 and 2018. Although the ACT scores have been inching upward, increasing from 18.25 in 2016 DeKalb is still in the bottom 20% of all school districts statewide.
The 2018 ACT composite score of 20.2 sets a new standard for the state as it draws closer toward its goal of bringing student averages to a 21 on the standardized exam by 2020.
Students with an ACT score of at least 21 are eligible for the state’s HOPE scholarship and the higher the score, the more scholarship money a student can receive.
In 2018, 2,000 more students took the test than in the 2016-17 school year, with 1,463 more Tennessee public school graduates eligible for Tennessee’s HOPE scholarship by earning composite scores of 21 or higher.
Every student in Tennessee is required to take the ACT in order to graduate and the state’s participation rate has now climbed to 97%. The results of the tests are significant because they are used as a measure to ascertain a student’s readiness for college. Students usually take the ACT in the spring of their junior year with a possible free retake opportunity in the fall.
“”The ACT provides an opportunity for our students to show they are college and career ready, and seeing a higher average score at the same time more students are taking the test is a true testament to the work that is happening in Tennessee schools,” said Tennessee Commissioner of Education Candice McQueen. “Our schools are increasingly moving toward deeper teaching and learning that meets our higher expectations, and that focus pays off on tests like the ACT and SAT.”
Van Buren has the lowest average ACT score in the state at 17.2 while Germantown has the highest at 25.9.
In the 14 counties of the Upper Cumberland, ACT scores for 2018 are as follows:
*Overton: 21.1
*Putnam: 21
*Pickett: 20.8
*Cumberland: 20.1
*Fentress: 19.7
*White: 19.7
*Smith: 19.4
*Macon: 19.2
*Cannon: 18.9
*DeKalb: 18.8
*Warren: 18.8
*Clay: 18.5
*Jackson: 18
*Van Buren: 17.2