Virginia students outperform students nationally on ACT

Virginia students outperformed their peers nationwide by significant margins on the ACT this year as the number of the commonwealth’s high school seniors taking the college-admissions examination continued to grow, according to a news release from the Virginia Department of Education.

The commonwealth’s public school students achieved a composite score of 22.6, compared with 21.0 for graduates nationwide, and public school students accounted for 24 of the 26 Virginia graduates who achieved perfect scores on the test. ACT results are reported on a scale of 1 to 36, with 36 being the highest possible score.

Virginia public school 2014 graduates achieved statistically significant gains on the mathematics, reading and science portions of the test compared with the average scores of graduates in 2013. The average for Virginia public school graduates was unchanged on the English usage and grammar section of the ACT.

“These results build on long-term trends of higher achievement and increased participation in ACT testing,” Superintendent of Public Instruction Steven R. Staples was quoted as saying. “Both of these trends reflect the successful efforts of educators across the state to equip young people with the knowledge and skills they need to be successful and pursue their postsecondary dreams,” according to Staples.