Juniors at Charleston High School and West Tallahatchie High School posted higher average composite ACT scores during spring 2023 than did their counterparts one year earlier.
According to a report released Thursday by the Mississippi Department of Education, the average 2023 composite score in four subject areas included on the test — English, mathematics, reading and science — was 15.1 for the 54 test-takers at Charleston High and 15.3 for the 32 test-takers at West Tallahatchie High.
At CHS, the 2023 average score was higher by 1.6 points than 2022's figure of 13.5.
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Juniors at WTHS increased their average by 1.3 points from 2022's score of 14.0.
The highest possible score that can be earned on the ACT is 36.
Statewide, the average composite score for juniors was 17.5 in 2023, up from 17.4 the previous year.
The national average ACT score for all public-school students in the class of 2023 was 19.1, down from 19.3 in 2022, MDE noted.
"The ACT is designed to predict how well students will perform in college, and colleges use standardized tests like the ACT to compare students across schools and states," MDE stated in a news release. "ACT research shows students who take four or more years of English and three or more years each of math, social studies and natural science typically outperform their peers who report taking fewer courses in these subjects."
Local results in 2023 subject-area scores were mixed.
WTHS juniors had an average English score of 14.4, higher than the 13.7 at CHS but still well below the state average of 16.7.
Juniors at both schools scored an average of 14.9 in mathematics, below the state average of 17.3.
In reading, CHS and WTHS again had identical scores — 15.8 — while the state average was 17.9.
The 2023 average ACT score in science was 15.7 at Charleston and 15.4 at West Tally. The state average in science was 17.6.
Average scores for schools in the area were:
| High School |
Average score English 2023 |
Average score math 2023 |
Average score reading 2023 |
Average score science 2023 |
Average score composite 2023 |
Average score composite 2022 |
| Amanda Elzy |
14.7 |
15.1 |
16.5 |
15.9 |
15.6 |
15.4 |
| Charleston |
13.7 |
14.9 |
15.8 |
15.7 |
15.1 |
13.5 |
| Clarksdale |
13.1 |
14.3 |
15.0 |
15.4 |
14.6 |
15.2 |
| Coahoma County |
14.4 |
14.7 |
15.1 |
15.5 |
15.0 |
14.3 |
| Coffeeville |
12.9 |
14.8 |
15.0 |
15.7 |
14.7 |
14.1 |
| Greenwood |
13.9 |
14.8 |
16.4 |
16.1 |
15.4 |
15.5 |
| Grenada |
15.5 |
17.1 |
16.8 |
17.1 |
16.7 |
17.4 |
| Lafayette County |
18.6 |
19.3 |
19.9 |
19.1 |
19.3 |
19.8 |
| Leflore County |
14.5 |
14.9 |
16.3 |
16.3 |
15.6 |
14.8 |
| M.S. Palmer |
12.9 |
15.6 |
16.0 |
15.6 |
15.0 |
14.0 |
| North Panola |
12.7 |
14.5 |
14.4 |
15.5 |
14.5 |
14.3 |
| Oxford |
20.8 |
19.8 |
20.3 |
20.3 |
20.4 |
21.0 |
| Senatobia |
16.6 |
15.9 |
17.3 |
16.9 |
16.8 |
17.9 |
| South Panola |
16.3 |
17.3 |
17.0 |
17.3 |
17.1 |
16.4 |
| Water Valley |
14.4 |
16.9 |
16.7 |
18.2 |
16.7 |
17.1 |
| West Bolivar |
12.1 |
14.2 |
13.7 |
14.2 |
13.7 |
13.9 |
| West Tallahatchie |
14.4 |
14.9 |
15.8 |
15.4 |
15.3 |
14.0 |
| Winona |
17.9 |
17.9 |
17.4 |
17.8 |
17.9 |
17.2 |
| STATEWIDE |
16.7 |
17.3 |
17.9 |
17.6 |
17.5 |
17.4 |
The full report is available here.
