Latino Students Scoring Higher On ACT Test

Standardized tests have been a thorn in my side for most of my life — I simply am not a good test taker — but it’s not just me. If you ever study the history of these tools, you find they were written almost exclusively by white, middle/upper-class men, which is only problematic if you happen to come from a different cultural background. Then, all of a sudden, you don’t test well on a test that’s not really, well, for you. Ni modo.

These tests have been controversial for years, and it’s with that particular grain of salt that I take a look at a report from the ACT test (kinda an SAT alternative):

11% of Hispanic graduates in the class of 2011 who took the ACT exam met or surpassed all four of the ACT College Readiness Benchmarks suggesting they are ready to succeed academically in specific first-year college courses (English composition, college algebra, introductory social science and biology) without the need for remediation. This is unchanged from last year and up from 10% the previous three years.

The ACT College Readiness Benchmarks, which are based on actual grades earned by students in college, specify the minimum scores needed on each ACT subject-area test (English, mathematics, reading and science) to indicate that a student has a 50% chance of earning a grade of B or higher or about a 75% chance of earning a C or higher in a typical credit-bearing first-year college course in that subject area.

The improvement in college readiness among Hispanic students is most evident in the key area of mathematics. This year, 30% (compared to 27% in 2010 and 26% in 2007) of the students in this group met or exceeded the ACT College Readiness Benchmark in math, while 47%(compared to 46% in 2010 and 49 in 2007) met or exceeded the English benchmark. 35% (compared to 34% in 2010 and 2007) of Hispanic graduates met or exceeded the ACT benchmark in reading. Finally, 15% (compared to 14% in 2010 and 13% in 2007) met or exceeded the benchmark in science.

So I guess what this press release is saying is that Latino students are performing better on this standardized test, so will be better students in college. I’m not sure I buy that, although I did score better on the ACT than the SAT personally, there are other factors. These students have been products of the teach-to-the-test educational system, plus, the ACT has probably been changing their test over the years.

Whatever the case, the unfortunate reality is that these tests matter, and so hopefully they’ll matter enough to help these Latino students get into college and succeed.

Follow Sara Inés Calderón on Twitter @SaraChicaD.