MCPS Graduates Show Third Year of Improvement on ACT Test

The performance of Montgomery County Public Schools graduates on the ACT college admissions exam improved for the third consecutive year, according to the county school system.

The MCPS Class of 2014 earned an average composite score of 23.7 (out of 36) on the ACT, an increase over both the Class of 2013 (23.5) and the Class of 2012 (23.2), according to data released by ACT on Aug. 20. The score for MCPS graduates is significantly higher than it is for those in the state of Maryland (22.6) and the nation (21.0).

“MCPS graduates are showing steady improvement on the ACT and are demonstrating increased readiness for college-level work,” said Superintendent Joshua Starr in a press release. “This is good news, but we know there is a lot more work to be done to ensure that all of our students are ready for success in postsecondary education and beyond.”

The ACT exam includes four sections—English, mathematics, reading and science—and is scored on a scale from 0 to 36. The MCPS Class of 2014 scored 23.4 on the English portion of the ACT (up 0.3 from 2013); 23.8 on the mathematics portion (up 0.2); 23.8 on the reading portion (unchanged); and 23.4 on the science portion (up 0.3).

ACT participation in MCPS remained steady in 2014, with nearly 30 percent of graduates taking the exam—about the same as 2013, but an increase of four percentage points from 2009 (25.6 percent).

ACT participation by MCPS African American and Hispanic graduates has grown significantly since 2009, as well, according to MCPS data. Since 2009, the number of ACT exams taken by African American graduates has grown 25 percent and the number taken by Hispanic students has increased by 79 percent.

Nationally, More than 1.84 million 2014 graduates—a record 57 percent of the national graduating class—took the ACT, according to the ACT website. This is a 3 percent increase from 2013 (despite a smaller total number of U.S. graduates nationally) and an 18 percent increase compared to 2010. This was the 10th consecutive year that the number of ACT-tested graduates reached a new record total.

About Krista Brick

Krista Brick is a multi-media journalist with Montgomery Community Media.

View all posts by Krista Brick