Washington students scored high on ACT — but few take the test

Washington high school students continue to test better on the ACT college admissions exam than their peers across the United States, according to data from the organization that administers the test.

This year’s nationwide average was 19.4, a 0.1 decrease from last year, making it the lowest average since 1991. In contrast, Washington’s average score was 24.5, the same as last year and up from 21 a decade ago.

Only 5% of Washington’s class of 2024, however, took the ACT, making it tough to compare to the nationwide average. Across the country, 36% of students from the class of 2024 took the test – roughly 1.4 million.

The SAT is much more popular in Washington: 37% of the state’s high school students took the SAT last year, according to the College Board. SAT data for 2024 is not yet available.

There’s an “East Coast bias” to the ACT, the state Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction said, and Washington’s bias toward the SAT may be because the National Merit Scholarship program is tied to the PSAT or preliminary SAT. The PreACT does not have a comparable scholarship program for the top 1% of exam takers.

“We are working to expand our state and district testing program in Washington,” said Catherine Hofmann, senior vice president of government and public affairs at ACT. “We are seeing more schools nationally reinstating test requirements for admission, which may increase participation in Washington.”

Washington’s public four-year universities do not require SAT or ACT scores for admission.

Hoffman also said ACT sees it as “promising” that there wasn’t a statistically significant difference from the 2023 ACT average score, considering that “a broader mix of students” are taking the test due to policy changes across the country expanding free access to the ACT during the school day.

When broken down by subject, average ACT scores in Washington were highest in reading, at 25.6, and lowest for math, at 23.7. More than 60% of Washington students who took the ACT met college readiness benchmark scores in math, reading and science, and 78% of Washington students met the English benchmark.

Nationwide, only 57% of students met one or more of the ACT’s college readiness benchmarks. Students who meet the benchmarks have about a 50% chance of earning a B or better in the corresponding first-year college courses and a roughly 75% chance of earning a C or better, according to ACT’s data.

Students who took the exam this year were freshmen during the first full year of COVID-19 learning disruptions; last year’s students were freshmen when lockdowns began.

Data from prior graduating classes shows that 84% of students who met all four benchmarks graduate with postsecondary degrees within six years. Only 38% of students who meet zero benchmarks and 56% of students meeting one benchmark graduate in that time.