More high-school graduates are taking the ACT college-entrance exam, as states push students to consider their options for higher education. But the test results show a growing portion aren’t actually ready for college. Sixty-four percent of 2016 high school graduates sat for the standardized test, up from 49% in 2012. The jump comes as more states—including Mississippi, Nevada and South Carolina—require districts to administer the tests, in the hope of increasing students’ awareness of college pathways. Yet as the pool of test-takers better reflects the population of high-school students across America, and not just a self-selecting group of driven young adults for whom college is an automatic next step, it reveals significant shortcomings in their educational achievement.

August 24, 2016 ・ From The Wall Street Journal