The State Department of Education announced today that students in public schools increased average ACT scores for the 4th year in a row, from 19.1 in 2013 to 19.6 today.

Superintendent of Education John White said there is also a substantial rise in the number of students achieving college acceptable scores.

"With a level of 21, that saw an increase of nearly 3900 students in the class of 2017 over the class of 2012," said White.

The average score last year was 19.5, so it's only up slightly for 2017.

 

John White, Louisiana Department of Education
John White, Louisiana Department of Education
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Leading the state in ACT scores this year is the St. Tammany Parish School District with an average of 22. White says the number of students who qualify for TOPS also grew at every level of the award this year.

"Today, nearly 8,700 more graduates in the class of 2017 qualified for TOPS Tech, or TOPS ACT scores, than did in 2012," said White.

There were also gains among African Americans who scored an average of 17.5 this year. The overall national average was 20.8 in 2016. White says even though Louisiana remains below the nation, the steady gains are significant.

"We're at good progress, and good progress among groups of kids," said White. "But we've got a long way to go, and the important thing is that we sustain this momentum and keep expectations high."

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