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ACT Scores by Common Course Patterns
Course taking patterns reported by Minnesota test takers. The more rigorous the high school courses taken, the higher the scores in each subject area tested and the more likely the student will be college ready in the subject.
| English Course Pattern | Number Taking | Percent Taking | ACT English Score | Percent Meeting Benchmark Score of 18 or Above | |||
| 2011 | 2012 | 2011 | 2012 | 2011 | 2012 | 2012 | |
| Eng 9, Eng 10, Eng 11, Eng 12, Other English | 16,058 | 15,887 | 36 | 35 | 22.8 | 22.6 | 81 |
| Eng 9, Eng 10, Eng 11, Eng 12 (Minimum core) | 27,753 | 28,116 | 62 | 63 | 22.1 | 22.0 | 77 |
| Less than 4 years of English | 959 | 790 | 2 | 2 | 19.7 | 19.3 | 61 |
| No English course reported | 308 | 184 | 1 | 0 | 17.9 | 18.5 | 57 |
| Total percent taking 4 years of English | 98 | 98 | |||||
| Social Science Course Pattern | Number Taking | Percent Taking | ACT Reading Score | Percent Meeting Benchmark Score of 18 or Above | |||
| 2011 | 2012 | 2011 | 2012 | 2011 | 2012 | 2012 | |
| US Hist, World Hist, Am Govt, other history | 498 | 488 | 1 | 1 | 23.3 | 23.9 | 69 |
| Other combinations of 4 or more years social science | 33,547 | 33,644 | 75 | 75 | 23.0 | 22.9 | 65 |
| US Hist, World Hist, Am Govt (Minimum core) | 546 | 487 | 1 | 1 | 22.6 | 22.2 | 57 |
| Other combinations of 3 or 3.5 years social science | 8,361 | 8,518 | 19 | 19 | 23.0 | 23.1 | 64 |
| Less than 3 years of social science | 1,680 | 1,653 | 4 | 4 | 22.5 | 22.2 | 56 |
| No social science course reported | 320 | 187 | 1 | 0 | 19.3 | 20.6 | 49 |
| Total percent taking 4 years of social science | 76 | 76 | |||||
| Natural Science Course Pattern | Number Taking | Percent Taking | ACT Science Score | Percent Meeting Benchmark Score of 18 or Above | |||
| 2011 | 2012 | 2011 | 2012 | 2011 | 2012 | 2012 | |
| Gen Science, Biology, Chemistry, Physics | 25,930 | 26,674 | 58 | 59 | 23.7 | 23.6 | 50 |
| Biology, Chemistry, Physics | 1,404 | 1,340 | 3 | 3 | 24.3 | 24.3 | 55 |
| Gen Science, Biology, Chemistry (Minimum core) | 12,563 | 12,137 | 28 | 27 | 21.8 | 21.7 | 32 |
| Other combinations of 3 years science | 1,221 | 1,230 | 3 | 3 | 21.9 | 21.8 | 35 |
| Less than 3 years of science | 3,510 | 3,401 | 8 | 8 | 20.1 | 20.0 | 18 |
| No natural science reported | 324 | 195 | 1 | 0 | 19.4 | 20.4 | 22 |
| Total percent taking 4 years of natural science | 58 | 59 | |||||
| Mathematics Course Pattern | Number Taking | Percent Taking | ACT Math Score | Percent Meeting Benchmark Score of 18 or Above | |||
| 2011 | 2012 | 2011 | 2012 | 2011 | 2012 | 2012 | |
| Alg 1, Alg 2, Geom, Trig, Calc | 2,971 | 3,068 | 7 | 7 | 25.2 | 25.4 | 80 |
| Alg 1, Alg 2, Geom, Trig, other advanced math | 5,165 | 5,002 | 11 | 11 | 22.9 | 22.9 | 66 |
| Alg 1, Alg 2, Geom, Trig | 2,560 | 2,458 | 6 | 5 | 20.9 | 20.9 | 47 |
| Alg 1, Alg 2, Geom, other advanced math | 7,570 | 7,520 | 17 | 17 | 21.4 | 21.3 | 51 |
| Other combinations of 4 or more years math | 18,504 | 19,163 | 41 | 43 | 25.3 | 25.2 | 79 |
| Alg 1, Alg 2, Geom (Minimum core) | 4,946 | 4,868 | 11 | 11 | 19.0 | 18.7 | 23 |
| Other combinations of 3 or 3.5 years math | 1,753 | 1,766 | 4 | 4 | 21.7 | 21.5 | 51 |
| Less than 3 years of math | 1,136 | 929 | 3 | 2 | 18.3 | 18.1 | 18 |
| No math course reported | 347 | 203 | 1 | 0 | 19.4 | 20.0 | 36 |
| Total percent taking 4 years of math | 82 | 83 | |||||
ACT has defined the minimum core high school courses as 4 years of English and at least 3 years each in social science, mathematics, and natural science. Recent research by ACT shows that it is the rigor of high school courses, rather than the number of courses, that best prepares students for life beyond high school. Students who take and work hard in courses such as physics and advanced math classes beyond Algebra II are more most likely to be college ready.
ACT has determined that this is the minimum score needed in the subject area to have a 75 percent chance of obtaining a C or higher in corresponding credit-bearing college courses.
Source: ACT
