Nashville, TN — The Tennessee Department of Education released the ACT state results and participation rate for the 2024 graduating class.
Thanks to efforts by schools and districts to encourage student participation on the ACT, the overall statewide participation rate for the 2024 graduating class was 99%.
In addition, the state average composite ACT score increased from 19 in 2023 to 19.3 in 2024.
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 year, the department releases statewide ACT results for the most recent graduating class representing each student’s highest ACT score. The 2023-24 graduating class’s ACT results are available on the department’s Data Downloads webpage.
“Tennessee strives to support every student in their college and career aspirations, including preparing them for the ACT assessment that can open up additional postsecondary scholarships and opportunities,” said Lizzette Reynolds, Commissioner of Education. “We commend districts and schools for their collective effort in improving the average composite score across the state.”
Statewide highlights of the 2023-24 ACT state results include:
78 districts (61%) had a rate of 99% or higher in 2024 compared to 75 districts in 2023.
The statewide average ACT composite score increased slightly for the 2024 graduating cohort (19.3) in comparison to the 2023 (19.0) graduating cohort with growth observed for some student groups:
Black/Hispanic/Native American students increased from 16.6 to 16.8
Economically disadvantaged students increased from 16.3 to 16.6
Students with disabilities increased from 14.7 to 14.9
More than one-third (37.7%) of the 2024 graduating cohort met the ACT benchmark, scoring at least a 21 on the ACT, with improvement observed for some student groups from last year to this year:
Black/Hispanic/Native American students increased from 17.3 to 19.5%
Economically disadvantaged students increased from 15.8 to 17.7%
Students with disabilities increased from 6.7 to 8.6%
District highlights of the 2023-24 ACT results include:
127 districts (98%) met the 95% ACT participation rate in 2024 compared to 129 districts (99%) in 2023.
Williamson County Schools had the highest percentage of all students meeting the ACT benchmark (78.7%), scoring at least a 21 on the ACT, followed by Germantown Municipal Schools (71.8%) and Maryville City Schools (67.3 %).
Districts that demonstrated significant growth in the percentage of students meeting the ACT benchmark, scoring at least a 21 on the ACT, from 2023 to 2024 are highlighted below:
Oneida Special School District increased from 20.4% in 2023 to 43.0 % in 2024.
Millington Municipal Schools increased from 23.0% in 2023 to 38.6 % in 2024.
Tullahoma City Schools increased from 31.1% in 2023 to 46.2% in 2024.
Sequatchie County Schools demonstrated a 13.8 percentage points increase from 25.0% in 2023 to 38.8% in 2024.
Meigs County Schools increased from 18.3% in 2023 to 31.7% in 2024.
Districts that demonstrated significant growth in the percentage of students meeting the ACT benchmark, scoring at least a 21 on the ACT, among student groups from 2023 to 2024 are highlighted below:
In Tullahoma City Schools, Black or African American students demonstrated an 18.5 percentage points increase from 18.2% in 2023 to 36.7% in 2024.
In Hickman County Schools, economically disadvantaged students demonstrated a 15.4 percentage points increase from 9.9% in 2023 to 25.3% in 2024.
In Jackson-Madison County Schools, English learners demonstrated a 5.7 percentage points increase from 0.0% in 2023 to 5.7% in 2024.
In Oak Ridge Schools, Hispanic students demonstrated an 18.7 percentage points increase from 31.3% in 2023 to 50% in 2024.
In Maryville City Schools, students with disabilities demonstrated a 26.1 percentage points increase from 8.3% in 2023 to 34.4% in 2024).
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 1060 on the SAT is one of the four pathways indicating that students are prepared for career and/or postsecondary education after high school.