Trends in the Academic Performance of High School and College Students

ACT RESEARCH REPORTTRENDS IN THE ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE OF HIGH SCHOOL AND COLLEGE STUDENTSNo. 7070January 1976£ THE AMERICAN COLLEGE TESTING PROGRAMP. 0. BOX 168, IOWA CITY, IOWA 52240 TRENDS IN THE ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE OF HIGH SCHOOL AND COLLEGE STUDENTS Prepared by the Research and Development DivisionThe American College Testing ProgramACT, a nonprofit organization, is an Equal Opportunity Employer.For additional copies write:ACT PublicationsThe American College Testing Program P.O. Box 168, Iowa City, Iowa 52240(Check or money order must accompany request.) Price: $1.00ORDER NO. 4-7-70 ABSTRACTThis paper presents longitudinal data drawn from ACT history files of student and in stitu ­tional data, and includes summary data on all college-bound students who completed the ACT Assessment over the past decade as well as group data on students who took the ACT and also enrolled in college. Specifically, trends in students’ high school averages, their test scores on the ACT, and th e ir first semester college grade p oint averages are examined. The overall trend shows a significant increase in the grades awarded by high school and college faculty and at the same time, a significant decline in ACT test scores.Data based on a representative sample o f students who enrolled at A C T-participating institu­tions over a 6-year period beginning in 1966-67 reveal an increase in high school average of .2 on a 4-point scale. The high school average is based on fo u r self-reported grades {in English, mathematics, social studies, and natural sciences) reported by students when they wrote the ACT Assessment. The findings from the data suggest that trends toward higher high school grades were not confined to any specific discipline, but occurred across all four content areas.The first semester college grade point averages of students enrolled as freshmen at ACT- participating institutions over the same 6-year period for w hich trends in high school grades are reported shows an increase of .37 on a 4-p oin t scale. As with high school averages, trends toward higher college grades were observed across all fo u r content areas.Trends in ACT test scores are reported fo r two groups— college-bound students and enrolled students. Over the past decade, mean ACT Com posite scores of college-bound students declined approxim ately 1 standard score. The decline is evidenced in each of the four content areas measured by the ACT Assessment except the natural sciences, where the mean scores have remained essentially constant. English scores have declined by about 1 standard score while mathematics scores have declined by about Vk standard scores. The greatest decline was in social studies, where mean scores have declined by about 2Vi standard scores. Further exam ination of the data shows the same dow nward trend fo r subgroups of males and females, though the m agnitude o f decline observed fo r females in most cases exceeds that observed fo r males. Also of interest is the trend toward an increase in standard deviations of the score distributions, which suggests a growth in the diversity o f academic a bility o f students seeking adm ission to college.As expected, the mean ACT scores of enrolled students are significantly higher than those of college-bound students. However, the trend persists: declining mean test scores in each content area except natural sciences, leading to a net decline in the mean Composite score of approxim ately 1 standard score. Likewise, the m agnitude o f decline fo r females is generally larger than that observed fo r males. As was true fo r the college-bound students, the standard deviations o f the score distrib utio n s of enrolled students have increased concurrently with the decline in test scores. TRENDS IN THE ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE OF HIGH SCHOOL AND COLLEGE STUDENTSRichard L. Ferguson E. James MaxeyIntroductionThe one certainty of life, and therefore of educa­tion, is change. In both, knowledge of the patterns and trends which describe that change is crucial to rational planning. In recent years, as a result of increased emphasis on the quality of the outcomes of formal education, such knowledge has become especially important to educators.This paper focuses on one small but significant segment of educational change—trends in theacademic performance of high school and college students. Specifically, data are reported which reflect trends in students’ high school grades, their first semester college grade point averages, and their test scores on the ACT Assessment. Each of t