R.I. sixth in U.S. for ACT test performance

RHODE ISLAND ranked sixth in the nation for student performance on the ACT college entrance exam. Massachusetts topped the list for exam performance. / COURTESY ACT
RHODE ISLAND ranked sixth in the nation for student performance on the ACT college entrance exam. Massachusetts topped the list for exam performance. / COURTESY ACT

PROVIDENCE – Rhode Island ranks sixth in the nation, tying with Virginia, for its performance on the ACT college entrance exam.
Massachusetts topped the list, followed closely by Connecticut and New Hampshire, according to results published Wednesday by ACT in its Condition of College & Career Readiness 2016 annual score report.
Twenty percent of graduating seniors in Rhode Island were tested for an average composite score of 23.3, compared with 28 percent of graduates tested in Massachusetts for an average composite score of 24.8.
The national average composite score was 20.
In Rhode Island, 79 percent met the English benchmark (compared with 61 percent nationwide), 62 percent met the reading benchmark (44 percent nationwide), 60 percent met the math benchmark (41 percent nationwide), and 52 percent met the science benchmark (36 percent nationwide).
Achievement levels on the ACT test fell this year compared to last year among U.S. high school graduates, but the decline was driven by a significant increase in the number and percentage of students who took the exam, according to ACT.
Close to two-thirds (64 percent) of 2016 graduating seniors – nearly 2.1 million students – took the ACT, an all-time high. That compares to 59 percent of graduates last year and 52 percent in 2012.

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