ACT Scores Dip Slightly as Participation Soars

Despite a whopping 9 percent increase over last year in the number of students taking the ACT, scores on the college-entrance exam from the class of 2008 dipped only slightly.

Among this year’s 1.42 million ACT test-takers, up from just over 1.3 million last year, the average composite score was 21.1 on a scale of 1 to 36—a decrease of one-tenth of a point from last year.

“This drop isn’t a surprise to us, given the expanded base of test-takers,” Cynthia B. Schmeiser, the president and chief operating officer of the education division of the Iowa City, Iowa-based ACT Inc. , the nonprofit test-maker that owns the ACT, said in a conference call with reporters Aug. 12. “Given the change in the composition of the testing pool, we think this...