Student groups falter on ACT test

Utah students beat national averages on the ACT college entrance test, but student group performances paint a less flattering picture.

Utah's most recent graduating class netted an average composite score of 21.5, the same as last year and up a tenth of a point from 2001, according to ACT test data made public today.

The national average is 20.9, slightly below the country's five-year high of 21 posted in 2001.

But ethnic minorities are less prepared for college than whites are, ACT reports, and some Utah student groups are not keeping pace with national peers.

In Utah, whites averaged a 21.8 composite score, one-tenth of a point behind the national average for that group. Asian American/Pacific Islanders in Utah averaged a 21 composite, compared to 22.1 nationally. And American Indian/Alaska natives here scored 17.6, compared to 18.7 national average.

On the flip side, Utah Hispanics outscored national peers by three-tenths of a point, with an 18.9 composite score.

Students reporting their race as "other" or who did not respond to the ethnicity question averaged a 21.4 composite score, a half a point above the national average for that group.

Utah black students also netted a 17.4 composite, compared to the national average of 17. Still, Utah's score represents a big drop from last year's 18.1.

The numbers likely will be discussed by the governor's working group on student achievement, initially called to examine achievement gaps between white and ethnic minority students.

The State Office of Education also is taking them to heart.

"We're still happy with that (overall showing), particularly in light of how many kids take the test," spokesman Mark Peterson said.

But Peterson said the achievement gap "is for real, and it's something that has to be addressed, particularly in the areas of math and science."

Nationally, the ACT was taken by nearly 1.2 million students, or 40 percent of this year's graduates. It is the predominant college entrance test in Utah — 68 percent of the Class of 2005 took it here — and 24 other states, ACT reports.