Makenzie Huber, South Dakota Searchlight
South Dakota students’ average ACT score in 2024 was unchanged from last year — a low point in ACT scores over the past five years. But it remains higher than the national average.
The national nonprofit that administers the college readiness exam released results from the class of 2024 this fall. South Dakota students earned an average composite score of 21.1. The highest possible score on the ACT is 36.
That continued a decline from the state’s recent high of 21.7 in 2020, followed by scores of 21.6 in 2021, 21.5 in 2022 and 21.1 in 2023. The minimum score for acceptance at the state’s public universities is 18.
The national average composite score this year is 19.4, which is down for the seventh straight year after peaking at 21 in 2017.
“These numbers indicate that schools in South Dakota are doing a solid job of preparing students to attend college,” said Secretary of Education Joe Graves in a news release.
Fifty-eight percent of South Dakota’s high school graduates took the ACT this year, according to the department. Twenty-eight percent of South Dakota test-takers met college readiness in all four academic skill areas: English, mathematics, reading and science.
Of students who took the test, 74% said they plan to attend higher education institutions in South Dakota.
“The fact that an overwhelming majority of our graduating seniors are electing to attend college in the state speaks to the quality of postsecondary education in South Dakota,” Graves added, “and to the opportunities available to students after they graduate.”
Comparing states based on their average ACT scores is difficult, because not all states require the test, and the percentage of students taking it in each state varies widely. Graves announced earlier this year that the department will require all South Dakota juniors to take the test beginning the spring of 2026, replacing the currently mandated state assessment test administered to high school juniors..
South Dakota will join nine other states that require all students to take the ACT. Among those states, the average score is 18.1.
The state’s average score of 21.1 for the roughly 58% of students who took the test is better than states with the most similar participation rates, according to the ACT. Missouri, with 65% participation, reported 19.8; Hawaii, with 62% participation, reported 17.7; Florida, with 44% participation, reported 19; and Iowa, with 48% participation, reported 20.8.