Mary Pintea – News Editor

mvp5879@psu.edu

This year’s average American College Test, ACT, score was a 19.8 out of 30—the first time it has dipped below 20 since 1991. 

Researchers believe that this is one of many signs that the COVID-19 pandemic has truly impacted education. The average senior in high school would have been in their freshman year when the pandemic struck, causing schools to resort to online learning for almost an entire year. Combined with the unpredictability of their learning environment, students were left feeling unprepared for their next year of schooling. 

Furthermore, 42 percent of students who took the ACT did not reach any subject benchmarks in English, reading, science, and math. These benchmarks serve as predictors for how students will perform in their college classes. 

Rose Babington, senior Director for state ACT partnerships, said, “Academic preparedness is where we are seeing the decline.” Oftentimes, students who are taking college entrance exams are seeing new material on the test, which certainly shows that high school students are not retaining or learning critical information. 

Though test scores are revealing the serious implications of a global pandemic, they have also brought forward an often overlooked concern: systemic unfairness. 

Students who are not offered high-level coursework struggled more than those who were enrolled in honors, Advanced Placement (AP), and International Baccalaureate (IB) courses. Babington states that these students come from underserved school districts, where these courses are less likely to be taught. 

Standardized tests like the ACT have faced growing scrutiny over the last several years, citing unfairness for minority and low-income students—so much so that colleges are stripping their admissions requirements of the exams. Babington disagrees, citing that they are a true testament of college readiness. 

Schools in the University of California system even have a “test-blind” policy, where test scores will not be considered even if they are sent. Despite this, many students still take the exams to receive scholarships or get ahead of their peers, with some claiming that the tests gave them a glance at topics to advance in prior to heading off to college.