Once Again, Massachusetts Had the Nation’s Highest ACT Scores

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We did it again, Massachusetts.

For yet another consecutive year, students in our public and private schools had the highest scores on ACT standardized tests nationwide.

The results of the exams, which are among factors some colleges consider when admitting students, were released yesterday.

Students in the Commonwealth scored an average of 24.8 out of 36. The nationwide average was 20.8.

Not everyone takes the ACT, mind you. It’s optional, and according to the Department of Education, just 28 percent of students who graduated in 2016 took the test. But those who did elect to take it did really well. About half of them, 53 percent, met all four “benchmarks” for the test, which are what the test-makers determine to be scores that mean students are likely to do well in that subject area in college. Nationally, 26 percent of test-takers met all four benchmarks.

Gov. Charlie Baker in a statement said he wanted to “congratulate those students, their teachers and their families on their hard work.”

“I am pleased to see the Commonwealth’s nation-leading results continue to improve,” said Elementary and Secondary Education Commissioner Mitchell Chester, also in a statement. “Especially the growing percentage of students who met all four of ACT’s college readiness benchmarks.”

Last year the state shared the top spot with Connecticut, but we’ve been had the highest scores every year since 2011.

So have you forgotten what it’s like to sweat it out in a tense classroom, remembering theorems and furiously pounding equations into graphing calculators? Try your hand at some of these sample ACT math questions and recoil in shame.