NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — A just released report contains disappointing news about this year’s freshman class as Tennessee colleges and universities prepare to begin the new school year.
The ACT college readiness benchmark results were released Wednesday morning and Tennessee high school graduates scored well below national averages.
In English, reading, mathematics and science combined, 18 percent of Tennessee's Class of 2013 achieved college readiness, compared with 26 percent nationally. The broadest difference was in math, where Tennessee graduates scored 15 percentage points below the national average.
David Mansouri, a spokesperson for the influential advocacy group State Collaborative on Reforming Education, says that while Tennessee schools have made significant progress in recent years there’s still a long way to go.
“There’s absolutely no doubt from the numbers today that we have to, quite frankly, reach a new trajectory as a state in terms of ACT scores in order to meet the goals that we have for students in our state and for college and career preparedness."
Mansouri says that new trajectory will require higher standards for teachers and students, better use of education data, and strong school leadership.