What we can glean from trends and the contexts in which they occurred.

Now, look. I know that standardized test are a whole can of worm in and of themselves. They're problematic at best, only capturing a snapshot of a student's performance and benefiting those with certain life and academic circumstances while harming others.

Despite all this, high schools and colleges both still use them as benchmarks for academic preparedness, so they're worth talking about.

Taking trends in standardized tests with the required grain of salt, we can still glean useful information about how students are faring on core academic tasks in a way that is not influenced by grading policies, participation points, or completion grades.

The data from recent years raises questions for anyone supporting students on the path to and through college. What does it mean when the average performance on these "standard" measures consistently declines? And what might that signal about student readiness?

Standardized Test Averages Have Drifted Downward

Since 2020, average SAT and ACT scores have decreased year after year. Recent national data shows both the ACT composite and SAT total averages dropping across cohorts:

  • ACT: From an average of 20.3 in 2021 to 19.4 in 2024
  • SAT: From a total score of roughly 1060 in 2021 to about 1024 in 2024
To be sure, the declines year to year are not dramatic, but their consistency still suggests a broader trend.

In an environment where standardized testing participation is in flux, that pattern deserves attention.

Participation Trends Add Complexity

In recent years, many colleges adopted test-optional policies. While critics have raised valid concerns about equity and bias in testing, the shift away from mandatory testing has also changed the mix of students who opt to take the tests.

Because of these policy changes, test-takers today likely include a higher proportion of students who expect their scores to help their applications.

This makes the downward trend in average scores even more noteworthy. If a greater share of test-takers are choosing tests strategically, it'd be fair to expect average scores to hold stead or even rise, but we're seeing the opposite.

Interpreting the Trend...With Caution

If students are consistently scoring lower on assessments designed to measure core reasoning and academic skills, even allowing for the imperfections of those measures and their designs, it suggests we should ask deeper questions about how well those skills are being developed in our current educational environment and what support structures students might need before and during college.

Why This Matters for Student Readiness

The broader conversation about college readiness often focuses on admissions outcomes, but readiness encompasses far more than a single acceptance letter.

Test performance trends, declining participation, and shifting admissions policies are all part of the evolving context students navigate, and they can influence how students experience the transition to higher education.

If we want students to arrive at college ready not only to get in, but to stay in and succeed once they're there, we need to pay attention to these patterns and what they reflect about the skills students are developing (or not developing) along the way.

What's Next

Standardized test trends are one piece of a larger puzzle about student readiness. They don't capture the full picture, but they do raise important questions.

Over the next several issues, I'll be unpacking related trends in placement outcomes, GPA patterns, and other indicators that help us understand what preparation looks like today.