The results have arrived from the recent ACT round offered for free to local high school juniors within the public schools. Juniors at Yazoo City High School saw a composite average of 13.5 with Yazoo County High School juniors seeing a composite average of 15.1.
Based on the 2023 ACT results, both high schools saw less test takers. Yazoo City High School saw a decrease in its 2023 average score of 14.2 with Yazoo County High School seeing an increase from 2023’s average of 14.7.
A local breakdown includes:
Yazoo City High School: 128 takers; overall composite, 13.5; English average, 11.3; Math average, 13.9; Reading average, 13.8; and Science average, 14.3
Yazoo County High School: 104 takers; overall composite, 15.1; English average, 13.5; Math average, 14.8; Reading average, 15.8; and Science average, 15.8
The Mississippi Department of Education offers the 2024 statewide administration for free to high school juniors. Over 30,000 students from across the state took the test with the statewide average being 17.4, a slight decrease of the 2023 average score of 17.5.
Statewide, previous years’ scores were 17.4 in 2022 and 17.3 in 2021. The percentage of juniors meeting the benchmark scores for all four tested ACT subjects was 8.8 percent, a decrease from 9.3 percent in both 2023 and 2022. Compared to 2023, an increase of 1,924 juniors were assessed in 2024.
Among 2024 Mississippi public school graduates, the most recent average score was 17.5, the overall highest average score was 18.4 and the average superscore was 18.7. Superscores are generated when a student takes the ACT multiple times and the student’s best scores from each of the four tested ACT subjects – English, mathematics, reading and science – are combined.
The national average ACT score for all public-school students in the class of 2024 was 19, compared to 19.1 in 2023. ACT scores nationwide have dropped in recent years as the population of students taking the test has broadened.
The ACT is designed to predict how well students will perform in college, and colleges use standardized tests like the ACT to compare students across schools and states. ACT research shows students who take four or more years of English and three or more years each of math, social studies and natural science typically outperform their peers who report taking fewer courses in these subjects.
The MDE provides districts with two opportunities – ACT/SAT Prep I and ACT/SAT Prep II – to provide ACT preparation courses. In addition, school districts offer two specialized classes, the Essentials for College Literacy and the Essentials for College Math, as an option to help seniors who need to improve their ACT scores to qualify for early release. Students who earn a grade of 80% or higher in these courses are entitled to enter credit-bearing college courses, without remediation, at all Mississippi public universities and most community colleges.
