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Minnesota leads nation in ACT scores for 6th straight year

Minnesota continues to lead the nation in producing college-ready high school graduates, according to the latest figures from ACT, the college entrance exam.

Minnesota high school graduates had the highest ACT scores in the country for 2009, the sixth straight year Minnesota has led the nation.

“It’s a tribute to the talent and hard work of those students and the encouragement of their parents,” said Education Minnesota Vice President Paul Mueller. “And it’s also a tribute to their teachers. Minnesota has the best-trained, most dedicated educators in the nation and the ACT results affirm that fact,” Mueller said.

According to ACT, the average score of Minnesota students on the exam was 22.9 out of a possible 36. That’s almost two points higher than the national average, and the Minnesota score continues a five-year trend of improvement. Minnesota ACT scores are up more than half a point over the last five years, while the national average has fallen slightly in each of the last two years. ACT measures students’ college-readiness in English, reading, math and science.

Achievement gap must be top priority
While Minnesota leads the nation, there is still a large achievement gap between white students and students of color.

“Eliminating the achievement gap needs to be Minnesota’s top education priority,” Mueller said. “We must focus our attention and our resources on schools where students struggle the most. We’re doing a lot of great things in our schools. We need to build on that success and make sure that every child in every school gets the same world-class education.”

Education Minnesota has proposed an achievement gap bill at the Minnesota Legislature, which is modeled after successful programs in Minnesota and other states. The bill calls for:

• Putting social and medical services onsite at schools in communities where those services are needed most.
• Creating Centers for Teaching Excellence in those schools, with smaller class sizes and aggressive outreach to families.
• Lengthening the school day or school year when appropriate.
• Making new efforts to attract and retain teachers of color.
• Mandating preparation time for teachers to share best practices and design curriculum tailored to meeting the needs of individual students.

August 19, 2010