CARROLLTON, GA –  A five-year trend shows Carrollton High School graduates are performing right at the state average for college readiness, with both the district and state outperforming the national average on the ACT, a testing instrument used to gauge a student’s potential for college success.

Carrollton High School’s Class of 2020  posted a composite score of 21.0, exceeding the national average score of 20.6. CHS also outperformed the nation in the specific subjects areas of English, reading, and mathematics, but fell just shy of meeting the national average in science.

A measuring component called “core curriculum status,” shows CHS students who met the core criteria outperformed the overall composite score. ACT research has consistently shown that students who report taking the recommended core curriculum – four years of English, three years of mathematics (including courses in Algebra I, Geometry, and Algebra II), three years of science (including courses in Biology, Chemistry, and Physics) and three years of social studies – are more likely to be ready for college or career than those who do not. Eighty-eight percent of the Class of 2020 reached this level of preparation, improving the school’s five-year average to 84.6 percent.

While the SAT remains the more common assessment students take for college admission consideration in Georgia, the ACT is becoming a more popular alternative, said Susan Gordy, CHS assistant principal.

“Most students take both or only take the ACT if it is a better fit for them,” she said. “We make a deliberate effort to expose them to this testing option as they explore their postsecondary future.”