ACT Scores

In Minnesota, the most commonly taken standardized college entrance exam is the ACT. In total, 61,253 students (11th and 12th graders in 2018) took the test with a Composite score average of 21.3.

Minnesota Highlights Class of 2018

Minnesota student's average composite score of 21.3 (on a scale of 1 to 36) was higher than the national score of 20.8; and first among 19 states who had 89 percent of graduating class take the test.

61,253 graduates, or 99 percent, took the ACT.

Minnesota students equaled or outperformed national percentages in all subjects.

30 percent of graduates met all four ACT College Readiness Benchmarks.

43 percent (26,102) graduates indicated an interest in STEM college majors and/or careers.

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Search for Minnesota Public High School Test Scores ACT data on individual high schools can be viewed via SLEDS. Alternatively, ACT test-taker scores at individual Minnesota public high schools are available from the Minnesota Department of Education in a downloadable spreadsheet. The Minnesota Office of Higher Education only receives state-level data.

College Readiness

A higher percent of Minnesota test-takers are more college ready than national according to ACT data.

College-Readiness* of ACT Test-Takers in Minnesota and Nation, 2018

Core Non-Core All Students 22.5 18.9 American Indian 18.4 15.6 Asian 21.6 18.3 Black 18.4 15.7 Hispanic 19.8 16.7 Two or More Races 22.1 18.4 White 23.2 20.0 Source: ACT

*Percent of test-takers meeting college-ready benchmark scores. A benchmark score is the minimum needed on an ACT subject-area test to indicate a 50 percent chance of obtaining a B or higher or about a 75 percent chance of obtaining a C or higher in the corresponding credit-bearing college course.

Source: ACT

Average ACT Composite Scores by Race and Core Curriculum Status*, 2018

All student groups taking ACT recognized Core Curriculum* have higher ACT composite scores.

*Core results correspond to students taking four or more years of English AND three or more years each of math, social studies and natural science.

Source: ACT

Reports released by ACT emphasize the need for students to take a specific sequence of courses in secondary school to be ready for college and work beyond high school. For over 20 years ACT has recommended that high school students take a certain number of courses in high school to be ready for college. ACT stresses the need for high school students to take challenging courses. Additional research found that "the level of academic achievement that students attain by 8th grade has a larger impact on their college and career readiness by the time they graduate high school than anything that happens academically in high school."

Composite scores and scores by subject area: Minnesota and National Mean Composite Score Total Students English Math Reading Science Year MN National MN National MN National MN National MN National MN National 2007 22.5 21.2 43,534 1,300,599 21.8 20.7 22.5 21.0 22.8 21.5 22.5 21.0 2008 22.6 21.1 44,863 1,421,941 21.9 20.6 22.6 21.0 23.0 21.1 22.5 20.8 2009 22.7 21.1 43,642 1,480,469 22.0 20.6 22.7 21.0 23.1 21.4 22.6 20.9 2010 22.9 21.0 44,323 1,568,835 22.3 20.5 22.9 21.0 23.2 21.3 22.8 20.9 2011 22.9 21.1 44,952 1,623,112 22.3 20.6 23.0 21.1 22.9 21.3 22.8 20.9 2012 22.8 21.1 44,977 1,666,017 22.1 20.5 23.0 21.1 22.9 21.3 22.7 20.9 2013 23.0 20.9 44,676 1,799,243 22.2 20.2 23.1 20.9 23.1 21.1 22.9 20.7 2014 22.9 21.0 45,305 1,845,787 22.1 20.3 23.0 20.9 23.1 21.3 22.9 20.8 2015 22.7 21.0 46,862 1,924,436 21.8 20.4 22.8 20.8 23.0 21.4 22.7 20.9 2016 21.1 20.8 64,145 2,090,342 20.0 20.1 21.2 20.6 21.3 21.3 21.3 20.8 2017 21.5 21.0 61,101 2,030,038 20.4 20.3 21.5 20.7 21.8 21.4 21.6 21.0 2018 21.3 20.8 61,253 1,914,817 20.2 20.2 21.4 20.5 21.7 21.3 21.4 20.7

Source: ACT

Minnesota Composite ACT scores by race/ethnicity Year All Students African American/Black American Indian/Alaskan Native Hispanic Asian American/Pacific Islander White Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islander Two or More Races Other/No Response 2007 22.5 17.4 19.7 20.5 20.4 22.9 22.1 22.8 2008 22.6 17.6 20.6 20.3 20.4 23.0 22.0 23.2 2009 22.7 17.8 20.2 20.4 20.4 23.2 21.9 22.8 2010 22.9 17.7 20.5 20.0 20.8 23.5 22.2 22.5 2011 22.9 17.9 20.2 20.1 20.6 23.5 21.2 21.9 23.2 2012 22.8 17.9 20.3 20.4 20.7 23.4 19.5 22.2 23.7 2013 23.0 18.0 19.7 20.2 20.7 23.6 20.4 22.3 23.5 2014 22.9 17.9 19.9 19.8 20.7 23.7 20.0 22.3 23.0 2015 22.7 17.6 19.3 19.8 20.7 23.7 20.1 22.2 21.3 2016 21.1 16.5 16.6 17.9 20.2 22.2 18.4 20.4 19.8 2017 21.5 17.0 17.0 18.4 20.6 22.6 18.9 20.8 20.3 2018 21.3 16.9 17.2 18.5 20.5 22.5 19.3 20.9 19.8

Source: ACT

Minnesota test takers by race/ethnicity Year All Students African American/Black American Indian/Alaskan Native Hispanic Asian American/Pacific Islander White Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islander Two or More Races Other/No Response 2007 43,534 1,324 290 681 1,939 32,692 587 6,608 2008 44,863 1,629 239 812 2,133 35,010 712 5,040 2009 43,642 1,786 275 871 2,265 35,563 784 2,882 2010 44,323 1,995 307 976 2,375 36,213 943 2,457 2011 44,952 2,095 232 1,389 2,641 36,070 20 1,033 1,472 2012 44,977 2,047 211 1,757 2,628 35,159 45 1,459 1,671 2013 44,676 2,140 210 1,913 2,535 34,279 35 1,557 2,007 2014 45,305 2,412 208 2,204 2,790 33,895 34 1,675 2,087 2015 46,862 2,744 220 2,562 2,913 33,796 34 1,683 2,910 2016 64,145 3,812 520 4,271 3,354 42,495 82 2,710 6,910 2017 61,101 3,863 453 4,301 3,412 39,798 67 2,533 6,674 2018 61,253 4,109 425 4,207 3,706 38,665 74 2,443 7,624

Source: ACT