ACT Scores Continue To Fall Despite Billions In Federal Funding To Prevent Learning Loss

ACT scores fell for the sixth consecutive year in 2023, despite billions spent by the federal government to prevent learning loss, according to a report from ACT Inc., the nonprofit that administers the exam.

The average ACT score dropped 1.1 points from 20.6 in 2020 to 19.5 in 2023, including a drop of 0.3 points in the last year, according to ACT Inc.’s report. During the 2022-2023 school year, 43% of students met none of the benchmarks for college readiness for any academic subject.

The ACT is a college entrance exam that was taken by 1.38 million students this year, according to the report. Scores on the test range from 1 to 36.

U.S. public school students lost the equivalent of approximately half a year of math education and a quarter of year of reading during the pandemic, according to a research brief released in May.