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ACT scores continue to show huge gaps remain between the preparation students receive in high school and what they need to succeed in college. Only 22 percent met a benchmark score for college readiness in all four subjects
-- English, math, reading and science. That's a one-percentage-point decline from last year. On three of the subject tests, the proportions earning scores that indicate college readiness were identical to a year ago
-- math (43 percent), reading (53 percent) and science (28 percent). The proportion showing college readiness in English fell one point to 68 percent. Most colleges accept scores from either the ACT or SAT exams, though they test different material. The ACT is more curriculum-based, while the SAT focuses more on basic skills. SAT results for the class of 2008 are due later this month. The ACT, an Iowa City, Iowa-based nonprofit, says a major part of the shortfall in college readiness is that students are failing to complete a core curriculum of college-prep courses. Students who take a recommended core sequence
-- four years of English, and three each of math, science and social studies
-- are significantly more likely to meet benchmarks. But ACT also maintains the core courses need more rigor. Among 2008 graduates who took the minimum core curriculum in math
-- algebra I and II plus geometry -- just 14 percent met the math benchmark. ___ On the Net:
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