CASPER, Wyo. — Wyoming’s high school graduating class of 2022 achieved the highest average composite score on the ACT among the six states across the country that require all high school students to take the test.
The Wyoming class of 2022’s average composite score for the ACT was 19.2, the Wyoming Department of Education said in a press release Monday. About 70% of 2022 graduating class students scored a 17 or better, qualifying them for the Hathaway Scholarship Program, the WDE said.
While Wyoming’s average composite ACT scores were above the average scores of the other states that test all students, the 2022 graduating class scores were down from previous years, as indicated in the following table from the WDE:
Nationally, the average ACT composite score for the high school class of 2022 was 19.8, according to a press release from ACT Media Relations. That is the lowest average score in over three decades and the first time since 1991 the average was below 20.0, the release added.
“This is the fifth consecutive year of declines in average scores, a worrisome trend that began long before the disruption of the COVID-19 pandemic, and has persisted,” said ACT CEO Janet Godwin. “The magnitude of the declines this year is particularly alarming, as we see rapidly growing numbers of seniors leaving high school without meeting the college-readiness benchmark in any of the subjects we measure. These declines are not simply a byproduct of the pandemic. They are further evidence of longtime systemic failures that were exacerbated by the pandemic.”
While Wyoming’s 2022 graduating class average composite ACT score was below the national average, most states do not require all students to test. The ACT cautions about comparing results from a state that does require all students to test to results from a state that does not.
Wyoming law requires high school students to take the ACT as sophomores, but students can also take the test multiple times. The WDE noted that for the 2022–23 and 2023–24 fall school years, it is offering graduating seniors the chance to retake the ACT for free. Wyoming students scored 3.7% higher on average when taking the ACT multiple times, the WDE said.
“Graduates also have an opportunity to earn a National Career Readiness Certificate (NCRC) by participating in the ACT WorkKey exam,” the WDE said.
WDE Deputy Superintendent Chad Auer said: “We are very proud of Wyoming’s class of 2022. This group of students, along with their teachers and parents, battled through a lot of adversity during their high school careers. Their perseverance and determination are commendable. As a state, we clearly have a lot to be proud of, and we have more work to do. I have no doubt that Wyoming’s outstanding professional educators will continue their long tradition of using data such as ACT scores to inform instruction.”
More ACT data from Wyoming and the country is available online.
