Kansas and national scores on the ACT test declined for the high school graduating class of 2021, but explaining why is complicated by a significant expansion in the number of Kansans taking the test and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
ACT scores are a measure of student academic achievement that test student readiness of college-level academics. The class of 2021 includes students who graduated this Spring or Summer as the COVID pandemic entered its second year. Most students take the test as high school juniors, but their results are recorded with their graduating class.
After rising steadily over the previous decade, ACT scores have been declining since 2015 in both Kansas and the nation as a whole. However, the number of students taking the test has been increasing in Kansas, while the number nationally has been declining. In fact, Kansas was the only state where the number of students tested did not decline from 2020.
Students taking the ACT receive scores from one to 36 in four subject areas (English, math, reading and science) and an overall composite score. ACT also identifies scores that are considered “college ready” benchmarks in each subject, which means that students have approximately a 50 percent chance of earning a B or better and approximately a 75 percent chance of earning a C or better in the corresponding college course or courses.
Since ACT began reporting the percentage of students at benchmark levels in 2006, the percentage of Kansas students tested who met college ready benchmarks in all four areas increased from 25 percent to 32 percent in 2015. The U.S. average increased from 21 to 28 percent over the same period, consistently four points below Kansas.
However, after 2015 both Kansas and the U.S. began to decline on this measure, and Kansas declined faster. Kansas dropped from a high of 32 percent scoring college ready in all four subjects in in 2015 to 27 percent in 2019, just one point ahead of the U.S. average. In 2020, Kansas dropped to 23 percent, three points below the national average of 26, and in 2021, Kansas dropped to 21 percent, four points below the U.S. average.
Several factors may have influenced these trends.
First, Kansas per pupil funding declined for eight years between 2009 and 2017 and declined compared to the national average.
Kansas and most other states were generally increasing educational funding more than inflation during the first decade of the 21st century, and part of those additional funds were targeted at at-risk or lower achieving groups. After the recession of 2008, per pupil funding in most states was reduced as state and local revenues fell. Inflation-adjusted funding nationally had recovered by 2016, but Kansas per pupil funding remained below 2009-inflation adjusted levels in 2019. Less funding means fewer teachers, counselors and other staff and programs to assist students. The funding passed in response to the Gannon school finance lawsuit is being phased in over six years, from 2018 to 2023.
Second, Kansas has been increasing the percentage of students tested while nationally the number is declining.
There is a strong negative correlation between the percentage of students tested in a state and results. In other words, the more students are tested, the lower average student performance is likely to be. This is expected because the students most serious about college and most likely to prepare academically are also the most likely to take the test. As numbers increase, more students who are less interested and or less committed to college for their postsecondary plans are included.
Since 2016, the number of students participating nationally has declined by 38 percent, which in many states has resulted in a higher percentage of students at college-benchmarks but far fewer students tested. The largest decline nationally was almost 20 percent this year (2021), which includes students tested as juniors in 2020 and seniors in 2021 during the COVID pandemic.
In Kansas, however, the number of students tested has increased by 19.4 percent since 2016 and increased slightly in 2021.
A major reason for the increase in Kansas students taking the test was the decision by the state Legislature to allow all students to take the ACT test at no cost beginning in 2019, which was fully implemented for seniors in the class of 2020.
In 2021, Kansas dropped two points in the percentage of students scoring college ready with a basically stable number of students tested; while nationally the percentage at college ready dropped one percentage point while participation dropped almost 20 percent. ACT estimates that 79 percent of Kansas students were tested in the class of 2021 compared with 35 percent nationally. According to ACT, 14 states tested a higher percentage than Kansas. Most of these states have lower results than Kansas, but several are higher. Twenty-nine states tested fewer than 50 percent of graduates. (In many of these states, a majority of students take the SAT exam.)
Third, ACT research found that the COVID 19 pandemic had a negative impact on student learning.
“Consistent with findings from other assessment programs used across the United States, ACT has found that scores have declined during the pandemic,” according to the national media release. “The decline in spring 2021 ACT test scores is comparable to three months of high school instruction.” Students in Kansas and nationally lost learning time due to school closures, quarantines, and difficulties with on-line learning for some students.
According to ACT data, from 2014 to 2020, between 71 percent and 75 percent of Kansas students who took the ACT test directly enrolled in a postsecondary program after high school. That declined to 61 percent for the class of 2020, which was the first graduation class provided the test at no charge, but also the first year of the COVID pandemic, when college enrollment declined in Kansas by about 8 percent systemwide. Data for 2021 is not year available.
Comparing ACT reports to actual Kansas high school graduates reported by the Kansas State Department of Education indicates that graduates taking the ACT and directly enrolling in college was 53 percent in 2019 and 50 percent in 2020.
Fourth, fewer students appear to be taking college preparatory curriculum in high school, but this data is self-reported and may not be completely accurate.
ACT tracks results by whether students report they have taken a “core curriculum” in high school. ACT research has consistently shown that students who report taking the recommended core curriculum are more likely to be ready for college or career than those who do not. In 2021, 31 percent of Kansas students who reported completing a core curriculum scored college ready on all four benchmarks, compared to just 12 percent of those who did not.
Since 2012, the percentage of Kansas test-takers who said they completed the core curriculum dropped from 81 percent to 45 percent in 2021. The percentage of those who said they did not complete the core only increased from 18 to 19 percent, but the percentage of students who did not respond or report rose from less than one percent to 36 percent. A major reason is a change in how the test is administered, which makes the reporting courses completed less convenient. Because the percentage of students who did not report is similar to non-completers, this indicates that most of those who did not respond are also non-completers.
This indicates that while Kansas has been increasing the number of students taking the ACT, the number of students taking courses to prepare for college may have been declining.
Conclusion and next steps.
After a decade of growth, ACT results for both Kansas and the nation have been declining since 2015. Kansas results declined faster, but more Kansas students are taking the test while nationally participation is falling. The COVID pandemic also appears to have reduced performance.
As local school districts consider their response, school leaders can work to strengthen individual plans of study to help students select the right courses, look for ways to enhance core academic courses for students who plan to attend college, and use federal COVID aid to address learning loss.
Here is a link to ACT information on high graduating class trends.
Here is a link to the ACT media release for 2021 results.
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