The class of 2023 had the worst ACT performance in more than three decades, according to newly released data from the nonprofit that administers the college admissions test.

Why it matters: The scores are the latest indication of the COVID-19 pandemic’s impact on education, with academic performance and test scores declining at all levels. The 2023 cohort was in its first year of high school when the pandemic began.

  • stown@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    10
    arrow-down
    1
    ·
    1 year ago

    That doesn’t track. Why pay money and schedule a date to do poorly on the ACT? Should the scores not go up if only the people who know they are going to college take the test?

      • stown@lemmy.world
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        1
        ·
        1 year ago

        Is the test paid for by the school district and/or part of the mandatory curriculum requirements for graduation?

    • Skybreaker@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      7
      ·
      1 year ago

      At my high school, everyone was required to take the ACT. It didn’t matter if you were planning to go to college or not.

      • stown@lemmy.world
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        5
        arrow-down
        1
        ·
        1 year ago

        Obviously if you force people to take the test then the averages will go down…

          • stown@lemmy.world
            link
            fedilink
            English
            arrow-up
            6
            ·
            1 year ago

            Before the test was mandatory, people only took the test if they thought they needed for entry to college. Now there are more people who don’t want to go to college yet still must take the test. It’s logical to assume that the people who would not go to college or feel that the test is a waste of their time will not perform as well as the people who view it as a barrier that they must cross for their desired life outcome. The simplicity of the test doesn’t really matter.