About 11,680 West Virginia high schoolers who indicated they were scheduled to graduate in 2016 took the ACT, an increase of nearly 400 ACT takers from the class of 2015 and the highest level since the class of 2012, when 11,719 students were counted taking college entrance exam.
ACT spokesman Ed Colby said the graduating class of 2012 was the last year for which ACT didn't report the results from students who took the test's extended time version, which is given to students with conditions like vision impairments or hyperactivity disorder. So the actual number of class of 2012 students taking the test likely was higher.
The state's average composite ACT score, measured on a scale of 1 to 36, dipped from 20.8 from the class of 2015 to 20.7 for the class of 2016, results for which ACT released Wednesday. The Mountain State's classes of 2012, 2013 and 2014 all had average composite scores of 20.6.
"It's really been varying between a couple of tenths of a point over the last decade or so, so it's very steady over time," Colby said of the state's average composite score.
The national composite score dipped from 21 for the class of 2015 to 20.8 for the class of 2016, but the national and state figures are hard to compare. West Virginia and many other states don't require all students to take the ACT, and states that do have that mandate generally have their average scores weighed down by the poorer performances of students who aren't planning to go to college.
Eighteen states tested 100 percent of their students in the class of 2016, according to the ACT report.
The report states that about 67 percent of West Virginia's class of 2016 took the ACT, the highest percentage since the class of 2012, when the participation rate was .3 percentage points higher. Colby said the Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education report on which ACT is basing its estimated graduating class sizes for these percentages was issued in December 2012.
ACT composite scores are generated from a student's scores on the test's separate English, reading, math and science sections, and don't include the optional writing section. When comparing West Virginia's class of 2015 to its class of 2016, the changes for individual subjects are also slight.
n The English score dipped from 20.6 - the same score the class of 2012 had - to 20.5.
n The reading score held steady at 21.5, while the class of 2012 had a score of 21.3.
n The math score dipped from 19.7 to 19.6, the same score for the class of 2012.
n The science score held steady at 20.7, while the class of 2012 had a score of 20.5.
ACT also uses College Readiness Benchmarks, which are the minimum subject scores ACT has determined are needed to indicate a 50 percent chance of getting a B or higher or about a 75 percent chance of getting a C or higher in corresponding credit-bearing college courses. From West Virginia's class of 2015 to its class of 2016:
n The percentage meeting the English benchmark decreased from 69 percent to 67.
n The percentage meeting the reading benchmark decreased from 48 percent to 46.
n The percentage meeting the math benchmark decreased from 34 percent to 32.
n The percentage meeting the science benchmark decreased from 34 percent to 33.
n The percentage meeting all four decreased from 21 percent to 20.
West Virginia Higher Education Policy Commission spokeswoman Jessica Kennedy said that to receive the state's signature Promise scholarship, students need at least a 22 composite ACT score and a 20 on each ACT subject, excluding the writing portion, and must have both a core and cumulative grade point average of at least 3.0. Students can submit SAT scores instead of ACT scores if they wish.
Kennedy said she didn't know what caused the increase in test takers for the class of 2016; state Department of Education spokeswoman Kristin Anderson didn't return a request for comment late Wednesday afternoon.
The ACT's reports on the class of 2016's results also indicate that only 7 percent of those tested expressed an interest in pursuing education as a college major, and those who did state that interest got an average composite score of only 20.1 compared to the 20.7 state average.
The group of majors that garnered the highest level of student interest was health sciences and technologies, at more than a quarter of all tested students. They averaged a 20.6 composite score. The next biggest interest category, at 16 percent, were the undecided students, who also averaged a 20.6.
West Virginia University was the school that most class of 2016 ACT takers listed as their top choice, followed by Marshall and Fairmont State universities.
Reach Ryan Quinn at ryan.quinn@wvgazettemail.com, facebook.com/ryanedwinquinn, 304-348-1254 or follow @RyanEQuinn on Twitter.