About half of college-bound Oregon students are not ready for the rigors of college. But ACT scores for the class of 2013 suggest a higher share of Oregon students may be ready for college math, reading and science than is true nationally.
Compared to the class of 2012, students in the nation's class of 2013 performed a little worse in all four subjects tested -- English, math, reading and science -- while Oregon's class of 2013 did better in English and held steady at the rest.
ACT also raised its bar for how high a student must score in reading to be ready for college-level work, and Oregon students did much better against the higher standard than was true nationwide. Since last year, Oregon high school students have been required to pass the state reading test or its equivalent to get a diploma.
The upshot was that Oregon students improved their edge over national averages for college readiness in all four subjects.
"It's obviously very good," said state schools chief Rob Saxton, who chalked up much of the increase to the new graduation requirement in reading. "There has been whole new level of focus from schools and districts to make sure that students are reading at the level they need to be in order to be successful."
Average ACT scores are not always meaningful to compare, because the share of students who take the college-entrance exam varies widely from state to state. In Maine, only 8 percent of high school graduates, mostly those aiming for elite colleges, took it. In five states, including Colorado and North Carolina, all high school graduates did.
Nationally, 54 percent of graduates took the ACT, while in Oregon, just 34 percent did. But Oregon's ACT-takers included nearly every graduate from Portland, Beaverton and five other districts who give juniors the test for free during school hours.
Saxton said he was encouraged that Oregon's performance improved relative to the nation's. But he said the huge gap between college readiness for Native American, African American and Latino students compared with that of whites and Asians is unacceptable.
In math, for example, 71 percent of Asians and 57 percent of whites scored college-ready on the ACT but only 15 percent of African Americans and 24 percent of Latinos did. In reading, 58 percent of whites scored college-ready but only 25 percent of Latinos and 18 percent of African Americans did.
"That's something we are going to have to bear down on," Saxton said. "We have to make sure that all students have access to college and to what it takes to be successful in college.
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