Nebraska ACT scores remain just slightly below the national average but generally on pace with the nation. This comes during declines around the country in the ACT entrance exam, which measures college readiness in English, reading, math, and science.
All Nebraska public school juniors are required to take the ACT, but due to the pandemic, not all graduates of the 2021-2022 school year sat the exam. That said, Nebraska still had 94 percent of public-school graduates take the ACT.
Based on a highest-possible score of 36, Nebraska’s average 2022 ACT composite score is 19.4, down from 20.0 in 2021, when just 86 percent of graduates took the test. The national average is also down five tenths of a point from 20.3 to 19.8. Although all of Nebraksa’s students sit for the ACT, only 36 percent of American students do so.
Among the 14 states with more than 90-percent participation, Nebraska continues to score well. At a 19.9 composite score, only Utah scored higher this year. This is encouraging for the state’s students and population, because states with high participation usually feature lower scores due to the inclusion of students who are not on track for university.
Compared to a 19.0 national English average, Nebraska students scored 18.6. In reading, which features a national average of 20.4, Nebraska students scored an average of 19.8. Nebraska students scored 19.1 in math which stands just below the 19.3 national average. And in science, Nebraska students scored an average of 19.6 compared to 19.9 nationally.
The full report can be viewed and downloaded on the ACT website.