Taking Math Classes Leads to Success on ACT Test

April 6, 1999

IOWA CITY, Iowa—Taking math courses won't just help students balance checkbooks or figure out the best cell phone plan. New data from ACT suggest that students who take more math are better prepared for college than other students.

According to figures released today by ACT, Inc., students who take four or more math courses in high school achieve higher overall scores on the ACT Assessment than students with three or fewer classes.

In 1998, students who took five or more high school mathematics courses achieved an average composite score of 23.6, compared to the overall national average of 21. Students who took four courses scored an average of 21.1 on the test. Scores fell significantly as students took fewer mathematics courses. Students with three courses averaged only 18.7 and students with fewer than three averaged 17.2. The ACT score scale is 1-36.

"In four different studies over the past eleven years, we've noted this strong relationship between additional math scores and higher performance on the ACT Assessment," says Nancy Petersen, ACT vice president for research. "It's important for students to recognize the role math plays in better preparing them for college-level course work and for the technological demands of the future."

Recently, the National Research Council issued a report recommending that all undergraduate students be required to take courses in mathematics and the sciences to prepare them for the future and the expanding roles of science and technology.

NOTE: the math courses represented in the chart are:

• 5 or more courses–algebra 1 and 2; geometry; trigonometry; and calculus or other advanced math
• 4 courses–algebra 1 and 2; geometry; and trigonometry or other advanced math
• 3 courses–algebra 1 and 2; and geometry
• Fewer than 3 courses–could include any of the courses

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