ACT scores released by MDE
While average ACT scores rose slightly for juniors across the state from 17.6 in 2019 to 17.7 in 2020, 90% of students are not hitting all four ACT benchmarks, which are used to gauge whether a student is likely to pass college courses that correspond to these test sections such as Algebra, Biology or Social Sciences. This is a 1% improvement from 2019, when 91% of students missed benchmarks for the ACT.
“As we look at [these benchmarks] we see a close connection to college readiness for students,” said Nathan Oakley, Mississippi Department of Education Chief Academic Officer.
Where ACT recommends that students score at least an 18 on English, 22 on Math, 22 on Reading and 23 on Science, Mississippi students on average scored 16.8 on English, 17.5 on Math, 17.9 on Reading and 18.2 on Science.
Teachers and school administrators have said that lack of resources and fatigue from state testing often contributes to lower ACT scores. Because students’ state test scores account for so much of a school district’s accountability grade, school resources prioritize preparing students to perform well on the state tests, not the ACT.
This means that a significant amount of classroom time is put toward preparing students for the state tests, which have no bearing on whether a student can get into college, rather than ACT prep, which has everything to do with college access.
All schools and school districts are given an accountability score that rates A through F. These scores are of tremendous importance to the school district. Businesses evaluate these ratings when considering setting up shop in a community, potential homeowners are typically drawn to regions with higher ratings because it indicates a better school district.
Also, if a school district scores an F on the accountability ratings two years in a row, the State Board of Education “may abolish the school district and assume control and administration of the schools,” according to MDE. This means the local school board would be dissolved and the superintendent would be removed from their position.
Local scores are shown below:
