Louisiana education officials received bad news from the organization that administers the ACT standardized test. For the third year in a row, Louisiana's average composite ACT score for graduating seniors has declined.
According to data released on Wednesday by ACT, Louisiana's Class of 2022 recorded an average score of 18.1. That's lower than the 18.4 mark recorded by the Class of 2021, the 18.7 score earned by the Class of 2020, and the 18.8 recorded by the Class of 2019.
Louisiana is one of six states that requires all high school seniors to take the aptitude test. Of those six states, Louisiana had the third-highest average composite score behind Wyoming (19.2) and Tennessee (18.6).
According to ACT chief executive officer Janet Godwin, ACT scores nationwide are at their lowest level in more than 30 years. In a news release, Godwin said it's the first time since 1991 that the national average ACT composite score is below 20. The national Class of 2022 scored an average of 19.8.
"This is the fifth consecutive year of declines in average scores, a worrisome trend that began long before the disruption of the COVID-19 pandemic, and has persisted," Godwin said in the release. "The magnitude of the declines this year is particularly alarming, as we see rapidly growing numbers of seniors leaving high school without meeting the college-readiness benchmark in any of the subjects we measure. These declines are not simply a byproduct of the pandemic. They are further evidence of longtime systemic failures that were exacerbated by the pandemic. A return to the pre-pandemic status quo would be insufficient and a disservice to students and educators. These systemic failures require sustained collective action and support for the academic recovery of high school students as an urgent national priority and imperative."
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