Students' average scores on the ACT Assessment follow the same trend as their high school grade averages and course work taken. 21.5 for Caucasian-Americans, and 21.6 for Asian Americans. High school course work and grades are strongly related to performance on the ACT Assessment, and thus to student success in college. These facts suggest that by taking more college preparatory courses and by working hard in these courses, ethnic minority students increase their chances of success in college, as reflected in their higher ACT scores. Typically, students with greater needs for help have lower ACT scores, and students with higher expected college GPAs have higher ACT scores.
Most students seem to have a good understanding of their needs for help.
With this knowledge, they should seek out academic assistance in areas of need before they graduate, thus increasing the likelihood of their success in college. Counselors can also help students identify their needs for help and understand the relationships between academic preparation and success in college. The factors most strongly related to ACT scores, and thus to performance in college, are students' course work taken and grades earned in high school, regardless of their ethnic group membership. Students' chances of success in college are also influenced by factors in both their home and school environments. This does not mean, however, that attending a certain high school or college, or having certain family characteristics, will cause a student to obtain a low or high ACT score or to be successful in college.