Minnesota again posted strong scores on the ACT, but thousands of students skipped the college-admissions test after the state stopped covering the fee.
The state’s 2019 high school graduating class posted an average composite score of 21.4 out of a possible 36, the testing nonprofit announced Wednesday.
That’s slightly higher than the 2018 class and tops among the 17 states where almost everyone participates. Many states’ ACT scores beat Minnesota’s average, but none of those have participation rates above 80 percent.
Minnesota in 2015 began requiring schools to offer the ACT during the school day, with the state covering the exam fees. That lowered the average score, but virtually every 2016 graduate took the test as a high school junior, compared to 78 percent for the 2015 class.
Starting in 2018, however, lawmakers stopped reimbursing schools for in-school exams taken by higher-income students. They argued there’s too much testing in school and that some students either take the test on their own or have no interest. Now, more are opting out.
Just 95 percent of the state’s 2019 high school graduates took the ACT, down from 99-100 percent each of the previous three years.
Some school districts, including St. Paul, choose to cover the in-school ACT fees for students who are not reimbursed by the state.
Dennis Olson, state higher education commissioner, said the state has had “great success” making the ACT mandatory and he wants to see every high schooler take the test.
“I think students should be as well prepared for any potential option in front of them possible. That means having an ACT score on file,” he said.
Education Commissioner Mary Cathryn Ricker said the state’s financial support for the ACT was the “shot in the arm we needed” to boost participation. However, the department did not seek expanded ACT funding last legislative session.
PASSING ON COLLEGE
Minnesota education officials have made the case that getting every student to take the ACT would lead more of them to pursue higher education. But college enrollment actually fell slightly after the state required schools to administer the test.
Sixty-eight percent of the state’s 2017 graduates enrolled in college the year after they completed high school, down from 70 percent of 2015 graduates, according to the Statewide Longitudinal Education Data System.
Nationally, the share of graduates who take the ACT has been dropping steadily, to 52 percent this year from 64 percent in 2016. The latest national average composite score was 20.7.