The average ACT composite score for Illinois high school seniors rose for the second year in a row, propelled in part by students who were the least prepared for the college entrance exam, according to data released Tuesday.
The state’s 2004 graduating class posted a composite score of 20.3, on a scale from 1 to 36, compared with 20.2 for the previous year.
The composite score of students enrolled in college-prep courses dropped from 22.5 to 22.4. But students not taking such courses posted a composite score of 18.6, compared with 18.5 the year before.
Nationally, the average composite score increased for the first time in seven years, rising from 20.8 to 20.9.
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The increase in the statewide score is significant because Illinois is one of only two states–Colorado is the other–which requires high school juniors to take the test. In most states, only students planning to attend college take the exam.
Overall, Illinois students posted gains on the ACT’s English, reading and science exams, while the composite score on the math test did not change. Chicago students also showed improvement for the second year in a row, increasing their composite scores from 16.7 to 16.9.
The ACT is taken by students in every state, but is used mainly for entrance into colleges in the Midwest. The exam measures knowledge of specific material.