Dive Summary:

• Despite slightly more high-school graduates taking the ACT this year meeting its benchmark scores for college readiness in English, mathematics and science, a report released on Wednesday by the company that administers the test said the percentage who met those standards plus the reading benchmark remained the same as last year at about 25%.
• The benchmarks measure the likelihood that a student has a 75% chance of scoring a C in a first-year college course in any of the four subjects tested, and there continues to be a growing gap between white and Asian students and African-Americans, Native Americans, Hispanics and Pacific Islanders.
• The test's average composite score has remained the same at 21.1 for the past five years, and Robert A. Schaeffer, public education director of the National Center for Fair & Open Testing, says these results are a sign that the national emphasis on rigorous testing in the wake of No Child Left Behind is failing our students.

From the article:

In 2012, slightly more high-school graduates who took the ACT examination met its benchmark scores for college readiness in English, mathematics, and science. But the percentage who met those standards, plus the reading benchmark, remained at the same level as last year, according to a report released on Wednesday by the company that administers the college-entrance test. ...