The Class of 2023 maintained Fayette’s high average composite score on the ACT, again outscoring the state and nation on the college readiness test.
Fayette’s 2023 average composite score is 22.5, the fifth highest in the state among school systems with over 200 test takers.
The county’s average score is 1.2 points higher than the state average of 21.3 and 3 points higher than the national average of 19.5. Broken down by discipline, the county outscored the state and nation in all four categories (English, math, reading, science) by at least 1 point.
Among the 302 Georgia high schools registering ACT scores, some testing fewer than 100 students, McIntosh High had the 11th best score in the state, with Starr’s Mill High 18th, Whitewater High 39th, Sandy Creek High 47th, and Fayette County High 62nd.
A total of 632 students in Fayette took the 2023 ACT.
For the seventh year in a row, Georgia students beat the national average on the ACT, with the state’s highest scores in reading. Georgia’s class of 2023 recorded an average composite score of 21.3, compared to the national average of 19.5.
Georgia students’ average score decreased slightly compared to 2022, when the average was 21.6, but still exceeds the pre-pandemic average of 20.7. Georgia’s scores in every individual subject area were higher than the national average.
“As I’ve had the occasion to say often lately – I’m incredibly proud of the class of 2023,” State School Superintendent Richard Woods said. “These students were high-school freshmen when the pandemic closed schools in 2020. Their education was severely impacted by the national crisis, but they have risen above and we’ve seen positive news regarding their SAT scores, graduation rate, and now ACT scores in recent weeks. These results also bring positive news in the area of literacy, with Georgia students scoring higher in reading than any other subject area. We will continue working hard to ensure every student has access to a strong education that will open doors to a successful future.”
The ACT consists of curriculum-based tests of educational development in English, math, reading, and science designed to measure the skills needed for success in first-year college coursework.