Goal: Minnesotans will excel in basic and challenging academic skills and knowledge.

Rationale: Students who are prepared for the demands of the college classroom are more likely to be successful academically and learn the challenging subjects needed in the modern economy.

About this indicator: College readiness scores have risen, but a large share of students are still not adequately prepared. Among the 68 percent of Minnesota high school graduates who took the ACT college-readiness test in 2009, 32 percent met all four college-readiness benchmarks (English, math, reading and science). The percentage has increased from 28 percent in 2006.

For comparison: Nationally, 23 percent of those taking the test met all four benchmarks. In 2007, 43 percent of U.S. high school graduates took the ACT. Minnesota students are most likely to meet the English benchmark (78 percent) and least likely to achieve the science benchmark (39 percent).

Things to think about: While test scores have gone up in recent years, more than two-thirds of graduates taking the test are rated as below standard for college readiness.

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