Tennessee Department of Education
Today, the Tennessee Department of Education released the ACT state results and participation rate for the 2023 graduating class. Thanks to efforts by schools and districts to encourage student participation on the ACT, the overall statewide participation rate for the 2023 graduating class improved to 99 percent, with 64,422 graduates tested. This year, the state average composite ACT score remained steady at 19.0 for the 2023 graduating class.
The ACT provides important measures to understand students’ college and career readiness and how Tennessee prepares the next generation to transition to postsecondary opportunities. Through Tennessee’s award-winning ACT Senior Retake program, the state offers public high school students the opportunity to take the ACT two times for free during normal school hours.
Each fall, the department releases statewide ACT results for the most recent graduating class representing each student’s highest ACT score. The 2022-23 graduating class’s ACT results are available on the department’s Data Downloads webpage.
“In Tennessee, we are dedicated to supporting all students in preparing for graduation and future success no matter their chosen college or career path,” said Commissioner of Education, Lizzette Reynolds. “The ACT assessment is crucial for postsecondary opportunities and scholarships, and I am extremely proud of the statewide 99 percent participation rate that is thanks to the hard work of Tennessee districts, teachers, and students.”
Key highlights of the 2022-23 ACT state results include:
In total, 99 percent of the districts met the 95 percent ACT participation rate expectation set by the department, which is a three-percentage point increase from 2022.
The statewide average ACT composite score was largely unchanged for the 2023 graduating cohort (19.0) in comparison with the 2022 (19.1) graduating cohort; although growth was observed for some student groups:
American Indian/Alaska Native students increased from 19.6 to 20.1 (0.5 points increase)
Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islander students increased from 19.9 to 20.9 (1.0 point increase)
Students with disabilities increased from 14.7 to 14.9 (0.2 points increase)
More than one third (35.4 percent) of the 2023 graduating cohort met the ACT benchmark, scoring at least a 21 on the ACT, with improvement among some student groups from last year to this year:
American Indian/Alaska Native increased from 39.0 to 44.5 (5.5 points increase)
Economically disadvantaged increased from 15.6 to 158 (0.2 points increase)
Hispanic increased from 19.2 to 20.7 (1.5 points increase)
Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islander increased from 40.7 to 43.9 (3.2 points increase)
District Highlights of the 2022-23 ACT results include:
In 2022-23, 75 districts had an ACT participation rate of 99 percent or higher compared to 29 districts in 2022.
In total, 129 districts met or exceeded the 95 percent participation rate requirement set by the department, compared to 96 percent of districts in 2022.
Williamson County Schools had the highest percentage of all students meeting the ACT benchmark (75.0 percent, scoring at least a 21 on the ACT, followed by Germantown Municipal Schools (70.0 percent and Collierville Schools (66.6 percent
Districts that demonstrated significant growth in the percent of students meeting the ACT benchmark, scoring at least a 21 on the ACT, among historically underserved student groups from 2022 to 2023 are highlighted below.
Cleveland City Schools (Black/African American students demonstrated 14.3 percentage points increase from 5.7 percent in 2022 to 20.0 percent in 2023)
Collierville Schools (Hispanic students demonstrated 26.6 percentage points increase from 28.0 percent in 2022 to 54.5 percent in 2023)
Hamilton County Schools (American Indian/Alaska Native students demonstrated 14.7 percentage points increase from 40.6 percent in 2022 to 55.3 percent in 2023)
Clarksville - Montgomery County Schools (English Learners demonstrated 7.8 percent points increase from 1.8 percent in 2022 to 9.6 percent in 2023)
Oak Ridge Schools (Students with disabilities demonstrated 15.8 percentage points increase from 3.1 percent in 2022 to 18.9 percent in 2023)
Warren County Schools (Economically disadvantaged students demonstrated 18.8 percentage points increase from 8.7 percent in 2022 to 27.5 percent in 2023)
Williamson County Schools (English Learners demonstrated 13.0 percentage points increase from 22.0 percent in 2022 to 35.0 percent in 2023)
ACT/SAT results serve as a nationally normed measure to indicate college and career readiness. Under Tennessee’s accountability systems, earning a score of 21 on the ACT or earning a score of 1060 on the SAT is one of the four pathways indicating that students are prepared
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