Page 1 of 2
Average ACT Scores by State
Graduating Class of 2023
The below table classifies states by the percent of ACT-tested high school graduates,
including the average Composite score and percent meeting ACT College and Career
Readiness Benchmarks by subject.
A best practice is to compare states where the same or similar percentages of graduates were tested (e.g., Alabama 100% and
Mississippi 100%, or Minnesota 68% and Missouri 66%).
State
Estimated
% of
Graduates
Tested*
Average
Composite
Score
% Meeting
English
Benchmark
(18)
% Meeting
Reading
Benchmark
(22)
% Meeting
Math
Benchmark
(22)
% Meeting
Science
Benchmark
(23)
Alabama
18.0
42
30
18
21
Kentucky
18.7
49
36
23
24
Louisiana
18.2
47
32
19
22
Mississippi
17.6
41
26
16
16
Nevada
17.2
36
27
16
18
Oklahoma
17.8
42
30
16
19
Tennessee
18.4
47
33
23
23
Wyoming
19.0
48
37
25
27
Arizona
17.7
40
29
22
20
Montana
18.8
44
36
26
27
Arkansas
18.6
48
33
21
25
Nebraska
19.2
50
36
29
30
Wisconsin
19.4
51
38
31
32
North Carolina
18.5
41
36
25
26
Utah
19.9
55
44
32
33
North Dakota
19.6
52
40
32
31
Ohio
19.2
47
38
29
30
Kansas
19.4
50
40
28
30
Minnesota
20.8
56
47
39
41
Missouri
19.8
54
42
30
33
Hawaii
17.9
40
30
19
22
South Dakota
21.1
63
49
43
41
Iowa
20.8
61
50
37
40
Florida
18.9
50
37
25
26
South Carolina
18.8
46
37
25
26
Georgia
21.3
64
51
40
40
Page 2 of 2
Average ACT Scores by State
Graduating Class of 2023
State
Estimated
% of
Graduates
Tested*
Average
Composite
Score
% Meeting
English
Benchmark
(18)
% Meeting
Reading
Benchmark
(22)
% Meeting
Math
Benchmark
(22)
% Meeting
Science
Benchmark
(23)
West Virginia
26
20.3
65
45
29
30
Texas
23
19.3
49
39
30
30
District of
Columbia
17
26
84
77
69
70
Illinois
16
24.5
85
70
63
61
Alaska
15
20.2
56
47
33
34
New Mexico
14
20.2
56
46
32
34
Oregon
13
20.9
58
49
37
41
Idaho
12
23
77
64
56
52
New Jersey
10
24.4
81
68
63
60
Colorado
9
24.5
86
71
63
63
New York
9
25.3
85
74
69
67
Connecticut
8
26.4
91
80
75
74
Indiana
8
22.9
74
61
57
52
Massachusetts
8
26.4
90
80
75
73
Virginia
8
24.6
83
72
61
63
Maryland
7
24.5
82
71
59
61
Michigan
7
24.4
84
68
63
61
Pennsylvania
6
23.9
79
67
60
59
Vermont
6
23.6
80
69
52
62
Washington
6
24.5
78
71
61
61
New
Hampshire
5
25.2
86
73
67
66
Rhode Island
5
24.5
85
68
64
59
California
4
25.7
84
74
69
68
Delaware
4
24.8
87
71
62
62
Maine
2
24.8
89
71
63
66
National
37
19.5
51
40
30
31
*Totals for graduating seniors were obtained from Knocking at the College Door: Projections of High School Graduates. © December 2020 by the
Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education.