Many Oklahoma students are likely to struggle when they reach college, according to the latest ACT scores.
As The Oklahoman reports, 43 percent of students in the state were unable to meet a single benchmark in the areas of English, mathematics, reading and science. And only 16 percent were able to show college readiness in all four of those subjects.
ACT research has shown that those students who meet the benchmarks have a 75 percent chance of earning a C or higher in a corresponding college course.
On a national scale, ACT scores in mathematics have reached a 14-year low, with only 40 percent of students across the country able to meet the benchmark in that subject. But Oklahoma’s figure of 26 percent is even still significantly lower than the national rate. To combat the problem, Oklahoma education officials say they’ve introduced a new 12th-grade math course in some schools.