Recently, the ACT test , known as " American College Entrance Examination ", announced the average scores of all candidates this year.
Because the score hit the lowest in nearly 30 years, it has caused concerns about the academic performance of high school students across the United States.
fell to below 20 points for the first time
On October 12, the ACT examination institution headquartered in Iowa, USA announced this year's test results: the comprehensive average score of 2022 high school graduates is 9.8 points , with a full score of 36 points.
This is the fifth consecutive year of decline in ACThat 2 score, and it is also the first time since 1991 that it has fallen below 20 points. The average score of candidates in 2021 is 20.3 points. Janet Godwin, CEO of
ACT, said that due to the impact of the epidemic in recent years, the long-standing problems in the US education system have become increasingly prominent.
High school students' ACT test scores have been steadily declining, and the decline this year is particularly shocking. More and more recent graduates, , have not met the scores of university admission standards.
Source AP
ACT sets minimum scores for all four courses to check whether students can succeed in their first year of college.
Among the 2022 ACT graduates, 2% of the students did not meet the basic requirements of the four courses of English, reading, mathematics and science. In comparison, 38% of these students last year.
As another major exam for introductory colleges, the average score of SAT is also declining.
Image source Getty Images
SAT University Board of Directors in September showed that in the 2022 graduation classes, about 1.7 million people participated in the SAT at least once.
In the exam with a full score of 1600, the average score of these students was 1050, and last year it was 1060;
only about 43% of the students met the reading, writing and mathematics standards for college admission.
Educational injustice highlights the decline in the US high school students' grades, and also indirectly reflects the unfairness that has long existed in its education system.
has shown that standardized grades are directly related to the family background of students .
Children from wealthy families can take expensive training exams and can take more tutoring and exams several times.
Image source Getty Images
This phenomenon is more obvious in the epidemic year. Students with wealthy economy can fly to the city where the exam is held for one night before taking the exam.
And those from low-income families are usually colored students , who have fewer opportunities to receive strictly comprehensive high school courses.
Under the interference of the epidemic, they were even forced to give up taking the exam to the university.
The number of people taking standardized tests has decreased
Since 2018, the number of students participating in ACT has decreased by 30%. The number of senior high school graduates in 2022 was about 1.3 million, while the number of graduates in 2018 was more than 1.9 million.
Among them, the participation rate of black students plummeted by 37%. This year, only .154 million people took the exam .
More and more fresh graduates have given up the path of going to college, even if some universities no longer forcefully require submitting standardized results.
My parents are South American immigrant Joseph, who has been performing well in high school in high school, but she still decided not to go to college.
Joseph knew very early that his grades and other performances were not as good as he could get a scholarship.
Parents couldn't help with college application, and she didn't have time to discuss with the school teachers about applying for college.
Once, in order to make money, she worked 28 hours a week in the restaurant, which has affected her homework.
She knew that the $900 she had in her parents and her account could not help her complete four years of college courses, and without a scholarship, she would not be able to go to college.
The number of applicants for prestigious schools has increased sharply
Due to the impact of the epidemic, many American universities no longer mandatory applicants to submit standardized results.
Harvard ’s explanation on the official website is that the COVID-19 pandemic has made students difficult to overcome in exam arrangements, especially for those with limited economic conditions, which is even more difficult.
picture source Unsplash
In the case of uncertain epidemic and economic trends, Harvard school believes that this temporary approach can solve these problems.
When American universities no longer require submission of ACT or SAT scores, the number of people applying for prestigious schools has surged in recent years.
Because many students think that since you don’t have to submit your academic scores, why not apply to take a look. The increase in the number of applicants for
has also made it more difficult for Ivy League universities, which were already difficult to enter, and the admission rate hits a low every year.
Harvard University received 61,220 applications this year, higher than 7% last year, and 1,954 admitted, with an admission rate of 3.19%, setting a record low;
Yale 50,015 applications, setting a new record for the number of applicants, a growth of 7% over last year, with 2,234 admitted, with an admission rate of 4.47%.
Pennia received about 55,000 applications, an increase of nearly 15,000 people from two years ago, and 2,400 people were admitted, accounting for 4.4%.
Brown University This year, 5649 people applied, increased by by 9% year-on-year, and 2,546 people were admitted, accounting for 5.03%.
Dartmouth College received 28336 applications, 21 points less than the record total last year, but 33% higher than two years ago. 1,767 people were admitted this year, with an admission rate of 6.2%.
The other three Ivy League schools chose not to announce the number of enrollment and admission rates, partly because the school believes that the admission rate is too low, which may have a negative impact on future applicants.
Just because there is no need for standardized scores, it does not mean that you can be admitted more easily.
Top universities will not easily change the number of admissions or the quality of students.
Each has a strange move for diversified admission
As American universities abandon the requirement of benchmarking results and instead emphasize the importance of "diversity", a new university battle situation began to emerge, and applicants each have a strange move for this.
For example, some students have standardized grades, but submit their grades to schools with lower grades in previous years, and no grades are provided for schools with higher requirements and risk-taking risks.
In addition, due to the wave of racial equality in recent years, more and more universities have made it clear that they will increase the acceptance rate of minorities to show their determination to attach importance to students' diversity.
But such a decision may cause some people who are interested to take advantage of loopholes and abuse the admission quota.
Among the students applying for Harvard, Penn and Brown University, about 50% of them said they have color .
even a college consultant revealed to the media that some students are obviously heterosexuals, but are considering whether to check whether to choose to be homosexual in the application form.
Photo source Shutterstock
Overall, among the large private schools in the United States, 24% more applicants than last year, claiming to be representatives of "minority groups".
When American universities no longer use the "quantitative" method, but use "multi-dimensional admission" to evaluate applicants, it may be more unfavorable for vulnerable groups.
low-income students may not be able to prove other talents or comprehensive strength. They cannot afford training costs such as piano and dance, nor do they have the reserve force to run for positions such as student president.
Therefore, it is not simply to abolish the examinations, the American education system can achieve true equality.
