Iowa students score well on ACT’s

Iowa students who took the A-C-T college entrance exam had an average of 22 out of 36 points. A-C-T spokesperson Ken Gullette says Iowa trailed only Minnesota and Wisconsin among the states where the A-C-T is the predominant test. He says the national average was 20-point-nine, so he says Iowa was “significantly higher than the national average.” Gullette says that’s not unusual for the state. Gullette says there is a concern that some students aren’t doing more to prepare for college. He says among the students who took the A-C-T, two thirds said they were taking college prep courses, while one third said they were not. Gullette says, “There’s still a disconnect with some students and their plans, and the cold reality when they graduate from high school without all the skills they need for college level coursework.” Iowa Governor Tom Vilsack says high school courses need to be more rigorous for all students. He says you can’t use the A-C-T results as the only measure of students. He says you wouldn’t be recognizing the full scope of competition, as it’s just college bound kids, and kids from other states. Vilsack says Iowa students have to be prepared to compete against students from around the world. But, Vilsack says simply changing the standards won’t make an immediate improvement. Vilsack says you’re not going to have instant success, he says it’s a long-term commitment. The results show scores for Iowa black students slipped a bit — although they’re still better than the national average. Scores for Hispanics improved. State Education Department director Judy Jeffrey says Iowa must continue to focus on boosting scores for both.