Did Covid Cause ACT Score Decline?

First we learned nation’s latest 3d-grade test scores sank into Covid toilet, now we’re told students’ ACT college entrance exam scores plunged into its sewer, dropping to the lowest level in 30 yrs. Can Fauci explain this one?

Opinion: Tony probably can’t. But, according to Fox News, experts are saying the “striking new low [ACT] test scores … further illustrate the devastating impact of the Covid shutdowns on education & raise questions about high school students’ readiness for higher education.” How bad was it? “The class of 2022’s average ACT composite score was 19.8 out of 36, marking the 1st time since 1991 the average score was below 20.” Moreover, an increasing number of high schoolers … up to 42% in 2022 … failed to meet any of the subjects like reading, English, science & math that are used as benchmarks.

Kmile Foster, host of the “Fifth Column” blamed the precipitous drop in test scores on schools pushing a social justice agenda & not focusing on the basics. On the other hand, the decline in tests results also declined in 2021 when remote learning was first embraced by many school districts, i.e., 38% of the secondary school students considering college in their futures that previous year couldn’t cut it. Regardless of the triggering events, the bottom line is that “Academic preparedness is where we are seeing the decline[s],” said Rose Babington, ACT’s sr. director for state partnerships. “Every time we see ACT test scores, we are talking about skills & standards & the prediction of students to be successful … through their first year of college courses.”

Davd Soul