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1
© 2018 by ACT, Inc. All rights reserved. MR00878
The Condition of College & Career Readiness 2018
Arizona Key Findings
 Performance
•
 In the 2018 Arizona graduating class, 45,468 graduates (66 percent) took the ACT test with a Composite score average
of 19.2. This compares to 33,999 (55 percent) with an average of 19.7 in 2014. Nationally, 55% of 2018 graduates took
the ACT with an average Composite score of 20.8.
~
 There were 1,521 American Indian graduates from Arizona who took the ACT (3 percent) with an average Composite
score of 16.2. This compares to 1,482 (4 percent) with an average of 16.6, and 1,364 (4 percent) with an average of 16.6,
for the 2017 and 2014 graduating classes, respectively.
~
 There were 15,011 White graduates from Arizona who took the ACT (33 percent) with an average Composite score of
22.0. This compares to 14,446 (34 percent) with an average of 22.5, and 12,906 (38 percent) with an average of 22.4,
for the 2017 and 2014 graduating classes, respectively.
~
 There were 19,721 Hispanic graduates from Arizona who took the ACT (43 percent) with an average Composite
score of 17.3. This compares to 18,177 (43 percent) with an average of 17.8, and 13,345 (39 percent) with an average of
17.5, for the 2017 and 2014 graduating classes, respectively.
•
 The 2018 Arizona graduating class average English score was 18.2. This compares to 18.6 and 18.8 in 2017 and 2014,
respectively.
•
 The 2018 Arizona graduating class average math score was 19.4. This compares to 19.8 and 20.2 in 2017 and 2014,
respectively.
•
 The 2018 Arizona graduating class average reading score was 19.5. This compares to 20.1 and 20.0 in 2017 and 2014,
respectively.
•
 The 2018 Arizona graduating class average science score was 19.2. This compares to 19.8 and 19.5 in 2017 and 2014,
respectively.
•
 In 2018, 19 percent of Arizona graduates met all four ACT College Readiness Benchmarks. This compares to 21 and 21
percent of 2017 and 2014 graduates, respectively.
~
 In 2018, 47 percent of Arizona graduates met zero ACT College Readiness Benchmarks. This compares to 42 and 41
percent of 2017 and 2014 graduates, respectively.
~
 In 2018, 47 percent of Arizona graduates met the ACT English College Readiness Benchmark. This compares to 51
and 54 percent of 2017 and 2014 graduates, respectively.
~
 In 2018, 32 percent of Arizona graduates met the ACT Math College Readiness Benchmark. This compares to 34
and 37 percent of 2017 and 2014 graduates, respectively.
~
 In 2018, 35 percent of Arizona graduates met the ACT Reading College Readiness Benchmark. This compares to 38
and 37 percent of 2017 and 2014 graduates, respectively.
•
 2018 Arizona graduates taking more advanced social studies coursework demonstrated markedly higher
average reading scores than those who did not. In fact, 44 percent of Arizona 2018 graduates taking three or
more years of social studies met the ACT Reading College Readiness Benchmark. This compares to 17 percent of
students taking less than three years of social studies meeting the benchmark.
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Arizona The Condition of College & Career Readiness 2018
~
 In 2018, 27 percent of Arizona graduates met the ACT Science College Readiness Benchmark. This compares to 29
and 29 percent of 2017 and 2014 graduates, respectively.
•
 In 2018, 12,918 (28 percent) of Arizona graduates met three or four ACT College Readiness Benchmarks. This compares
to 13,238 and 11,039 (31 and 32 percent) out of 2017 and 2014 graduates, respectively. For reference, the national
percentage of 2018 graduates meeting three or four benchmarks was 38%.
•
 In 2018, 2 percent of Arizona graduates took the ACT with extended time. This compares to 2 and 1 percent of 2017
and 2014 graduates, respectively.
•
 37 percent of 2018 Arizona graduates were Procient or Above Procient in understanding complex texts.
 STEM
•
 In 2018, 20,005 Arizona graduates (44 percent) indicated having an interest in STEM majors and/or careers.
~
 Nationally, 45 percent of graduates indicated having an interest in STEM.
•
 Compared to 14 percent of 2018 Arizona graduates meeting the ACT STEM College Readiness Benchmark, graduates
in 2017 and 2014 had STEM Benchmark percentages of 15 and 16, respectively.
•
 In 2018, 15,685 Arizona graduates (34 percent) indicated taking physics. This compares to 38 and 40 percent for the
2017 and 2014 graduating classes, respectively.
•
 2018 graduates taking physics had an average science score of 21.7, compared to 18.5 for students not taking physics.
~
 44 percent of 2018 Arizona graduates taking physics met the ACT Science College Readiness Benchmark,
compared to 20 for students not taking physics.
•
 In 2018, 35,191 Arizona graduates (77 percent) indicated taking three or more years of math. This compares to 83 and
86 percent for 2017 and 2014 graduating classes, respectively.
~
 37 percent of 2018 graduates taking three or more years of math met the ACT Math College Readiness
Benchmark, compared to 10 percent for students taking less than three years of math.
 Career Readiness
•
 In 2018, 28,113 Arizona graduates (62 percent) were likely to attain the Silver ACT WorkKeys National Career Readiness
Certicate
®
or higher based upon ACT Composite score, compared to 1,393,517 (73 percent) nationally.
~
 The ACT Composite scores associated with a 50% chance of earning each NCRC
®
level or higher are: 13 for Bronze,
17 for Silver, 25 for Gold, and 35 for Platinum. Based on those cut scores, students who earned an ACT Composite
score of less than 13 would be classied as “Needs Improvement,” 13 to 16 as “Bronze,” 17 to 24 as “Silver,” and 25 or
above as “Gold or Higher.”
 Impact
•
 Based on the actual test volume and ACT score distributions of 2018 ACT-tested Arizona high school graduates, ACT
research estimates that an increase of 0.1 in state average ACT Composite score for the 2018 graduating class would
result in:
~
 116 more students enrolling in college.
~
 128 more students persisting to year two.
~
 95 fewer students needing remedial English.
~
 146 fewer students needing remedial math.
~
 133 more students persisting to year four.
~
 138 more students earning a postsecondary degree within six years.
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3
The Condition of College & Career Readiness 2018 Arizona
 Behaviors that Impact Access and Opportunity
•
 In Arizona, 9,288 of the 2018 graduates (20.4%) taking the ACT two or more times had an average Composite score of
23.2, compared to an average of 18.2 for 36,180 of the 2018 graduates (79.6%) who took the ACT only once.
•
 110,296 score reports were sent to colleges by 2018 Arizona ACT-tested graduates.
~
 64,277 score reports were sent to in-state public colleges by 2018 Arizona ACT-tested graduates.
~
 For Arizona’s 2018 ACT-tested graduates, the top ve schools to which scores were sent were Arizona State
University, University of Arizona, Northern Arizona University, Grand Canyon University, and Glendale Community
College.
~
 For Arizona’s 2018 ACT-tested graduates, the top three out-of-state schools to which scores were sent were
University of Southern California, Brigham Young University, and University of California-Los Angeles.
•
 Compared to 68 percent of 2018 graduates nationally, 76 percent of Arizona graduates opted into the ACT
Educational Opportunity Service (EOS). EOS is a free service that allows students to gain exposure to recruitment,
scholarship agencies, colleges, and universities that students may not have accessed on their own. The ACT Get Your
Name in the Game initiative encourages colleges and universities to recruit underserved EOS participants to increase
access and opportunity for all.
~
 Compared to 73 percent of American Indian students nationally, 87 percent of Arizona American Indian 2018
graduates opted into EOS.
~
 Compared to 66 percent of White students nationally, 71 percent of Arizona White 2018 graduates opted into EOS.
~
 Compared to 80 percent of Hispanic students nationally, 84 percent of Arizona Hispanic 2018 graduates opted
into EOS.
•
 In the 2017-2018 academic year, ACT issued 7,631 ACT fee waivers to qualied Arizona students. However, 2,161
students (28.3 percent) did not take advantage of this opportunity to test for free. This compares to 542,506 waivers
issued nationally, of which 152,227 (28.1 percent) students did not take advantage. This represents a great opportunity
for high schools within the state to increase the socioeconomic diversity of its students tested. Note: this is the
number of fee waivers issued for the state, not specic to this graduating class.
~
 American Indian Arizona students represent 17 percent of fee waivers issued, and they account for 19 percent of
unused fee waivers.
~
 Hispanic Arizona students represent 56 percent of fee waivers issued, and they account for 54 percent of unused
fee waivers.
 
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4
Arizona The Condition of College & Career Readiness 2018
Pipeline
•
 Aspirations matter. Students who aspire to a higher level of postsecondary education typically achieve higher ACT
Composite scores.
~
 13,501 students (30 percent) aspired to attain a graduate or professional degree. They had an average Composite
score of 22.2.
~
 16,619 students (37 percent) aspired to attain a bachelor’s degree. They had an average Composite score of 19.4.
~
 2,859 students (6 percent) aspired to attain a vocational/technical or associate’s degree. They had an average
Composite score of 15.4.
•
 In order of prevalence, the ve most commonly indicated college majors of interest for 2018 Arizona graduates were:
Undecided; Nursing, Registered (BS/RN); Medicine (Pre-Medicine); Business Administration and Management,
General; and Criminology.
~
 In the Arizona graduating class of 2018, 1,081 (2 percent) indicated planning on majoring in education. They had an
average Composite score of 19.1.
•
 There is good news in that 73% of Arizona’s 2018 ACT-tested graduates aspired to postsecondary education.
Interestingly enough, 77% of Arizona’s 2017 ACT-tested graduating class aspired to enroll in postsecondary education,
compared to 56% who actually did enroll. If we fully closed the aspirational gap, an additional 9,023 of the 2017
ACT-tested graduates from Arizona would have enrolled in postsecondary education.
State
English
National
English
State
Reading
National
Reading
State
Math
National
Math
State
Science
National
Science
State
All Four
National
All Four
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
47%
60%
35%
46%
32%
40%
27%
36%
19%
27%
Percent of 2018 ACT-Tested High School Graduates Meeting ACT College Readiness Benchmarks* by
Subject
* The ACT College Readiness Benchmarks are scores on the ACT subject area tests that represent the level of achievement required for students to have a 50% chance of
obtaining a B or higher or about a 75% chance of obtaining a C or higher in corresponding credit-bearing first-year college courses. Throughout this report, benchmark
attainment corresponds with students meeting or exceeding 18 in English, 22 in Reading, 22 in Math and 23 in Science.
Note, missing data points in tables and graphs reflect insufficient data for reporting.
State
English
National
English
State
Reading
National
Reading
State
Math
National
Math
State
Science
National
Science
State
All Four
National
All Four
27%
19%
36%
27%
40%
32%
46%
35%
60%
47%
Data From Graph Above
ARIZONA College and Career Readiness Attainment, Participation, and
Opportunity
2014 2015 2016 2017 2018
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
Percent
51%
47%
29%
21%
32%
54%
54%
37%
34%
29%
37%
21%
38%
35%
38%
38%
27%
19%
55%
38%
22%
31%
23%
39%
Percent of 2014–2018 ACT-Tested High School Graduates Meeting ACT College Readiness Benchmarks*
English Reading Math Science All Four Subjects
* The ACT College Readiness Benchmarks are scores on the ACT subject area tests that represent the level of achievement required for students to have a 50% chance of
obtaining a B or higher or about a 75% chance of obtaining a C or higher in corresponding credit-bearing first-year college courses. Throughout this report, benchmark
attainment corresponds with students meeting or exceeding 18 in English, 22 in Reading, 22 in Math and 23 in Science.
Note, missing data points in tables and graphs reflect insufficient data for reporting.
English Reading Math Science All Four Subjects
2014
2015
2016
2017
2018
19%
21%
23%
22%
21%
27%
29%
31%
31%
29%
32%
34%
38%
38%
37%
35%
38%
39%
38%
37%
47%
51%
55%
54%
54%
Data From Graph Above
ARIZONA College and Career Readiness Attainment, Participation, and
Opportunity
2014 2015 2016 2017 2018
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
Percent
25%
56%
51%
51%
23%
56%
33%
30%
48%
59%
14%14%
15%
52%
54%
20%
18%
16%
8%
13%
10%
9%
53%
10%
53%
10%
18%
Percent of 2014-2018 ACT-Tested High School Graduates Meeting Three or More Benchmarks by
Race/Ethnicity
Black/African American
Hispanic/Latino
American Indian/Alaska Native
Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific Isl..
Asian
White
Note, missing data points in tables and graphs reflect insufficient data for reporting.
Black/African
American
Hispanic/Latino
American
Indian/Alaska Native
Native
Hawaiian/Other
Pacific Islander
Asian White
2014
2015
2016
2017
2018
48%
51%
52%
53%
51%
54%
56%
59%
56%
53%
20%
25%
33%
30%
23%
8%
9%
10%
10%
10%
15%
17%
18%
18%
17%
13%
14%
16%
14%
15%
Data From Graph Above
ARIZONA College and Career Readiness Attainment, Participation, and
Opportunity
ARIZONA College and Career Readiness Attainment, Participation, and
Opportunity
English
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
Percent
42%
11%
47%
Reading
55%
10%
35%
Math
61%
32%
7%
Science
61%
13%
27%
Percent of 2018 ACT-Tested High School Graduates by ACT College Readiness Benchmark Attainment and
Subject
Note, missing data points in tables and graphs reflect insufficient data for reporting.
Below Benchmark by 3+ points
Within 2 points of Benchmark
Met Benchmark
Below Benchmark by 3+ points Within 2 points of Benchmark Met Benchmark
English
47%
11%
42%
Data From Graph Above
Math
32%
7%
61%
Reading
35%
10%
55%
Science
27%
13%
61%
2014 2015 2016 2017 2018
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
Percent
42%
41%
47%
32%
31%
28%
33%
40%
34%
34%
39%
35%
39%
40%
31%
31%
38%
Percent of 2014–2018 ACT-Tested High School Graduates Meeting ACT College Readiness Benchmarks*
State: Those Attaining 0 CRBs
State: Those Attaining 3 or 4 CRBs
National: Those Attaining 0 CRBs
National: Those Attaining 3 or 4 CRBs
State: Those Attaining 0 CRBs
State: Those Attaining 3 or 4
CRBs
National: Those Attaining 0
CRBs
National: Those Attaining 3 or 4
CRBs
2014
2015
2016
2017
2018
38%
39%
38%
40%
39%
35%
33%
34%
31%
31%
28%
31%
34%
34%
32%
47%
42%
39%
40%
41%
Data from Graph Above
*Note, missing data points in tables and graphs reflect insufficient data for reporting.
ARIZONA College and Career Readiness Attainment, Participation, and
Opportunity
2014 2015 2016 2017 2018
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
Percent
39%
41%
40%
43%
43%
38%
38%
38%
34%
33%
4%
7%
6%
6%
8%
9%
Percent of 2014-2018 ACT-Tested High School Graduates by Race/Ethnicity
Black/African American
American Indian/Alaska Native
Asian
Hispanic/Latino
Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islander
White
Two or more races
No Response
Note, missing data points in tables and graphs reflect insufficient data for reporting.
Black/African
American
American
Indian/Alaska
Native
Asian Hispanic/Latino
Native
Hawaiian/
Other Pacific
Islander
White
Two or more
races
No Response
2014
2015
2016
2017
2018
9%
8%
6%
6%
7%
4%
4%
4%
4%
4%
33%
34%
38%
38%
38%
0%
0%
0%
0%
0%
43%
43%
40%
41%
39%
3%
3%
3%
3%
3%
3%
4%
4%
4%
4%
4%
4%
4%
4%
4%
Data From Graph Above
ARIZONA College and Career Readiness Attainment, Participation, and
Opportunity
2014 2015 2016 2017 2018
State N-count
National N-count
Average ACT English Score - State
Average ACT English Score - National
Average ACT Reading Score - State
Average ACT Reading Score - National
Average ACT Math Score - State
Average ACT Math Score - National
Average ACT Science Score - State
Average ACT Science Score - National
Average ACT Composite Score - State
Average ACT Composite Score - National
20.8
19.2
20.7
19.2
20.5
19.4
21.3
19.5
20.2
18.2
1,914,817
45,468
21.0
19.7
21.0
19.8
20.7
19.8
21.4
20.1
20.3
18.6
2,030,038
42,232
20.8
20.1
20.8
20.0
20.6
20.2
21.3
20.5
20.1
19.1
2,090,342
36,285
21.0
19.9
20.9
19.7
20.8
20.2
21.4
20.2
20.4
18.8
1,924,436
35,248
21.0
19.7
20.8
19.5
20.9
20.2
21.3
20.0
20.3
18.8
1,845,787
33,999
Student Data Trends: 2014-2018, State vs. Nation
Note, missing data points in tables and graphs reflect insufficient data for reporting.
ARIZONA College and Career Readiness Attainment, Participation, and
Opportunity
Doctorate or
professional degree
(PhD, MD, JD, etc.)
One or 2 years of
graduate study (MA,
MBA, etc.)
Bachelor’s degree (4
years)
Associate’s degree
(2 years)
Business/technical
or certificate
program
Other No Response
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
Percent
18%
11%
37%
26%
5%
2% 2%
Percent of 2018 ACT-Tested High School Graduates by Educational Aspirations
Note, missing data points in tables and graphs reflect insufficient data for reporting.
% of Graduates
Doctorate or professional degree (PhD, MD, JD, etc.)
One or 2 years of graduate study (MA, MBA, etc.)
Bachelor’s degree (4 years)
Associate’s degree (2 years)
Business/technical or certificate program
Other
No Response
26%
2%
2%
5%
37%
11%
18%
Data From Graph Above
ARIZONA College and Career Readiness Attainment, Participation, and
Opportunity