According to 2005 data, students who take additional, beyond-core science courses (i.e., Physics) earn ACT Science Test scores that are up to 3 points higher, on average, than the scores of students who take only the core science curriculum. In mathematics, students who take additional courses (i.e., advanced math beyond Algebra II) have ACT Mathematics Test scores that are up to 6.8 points higher, on average, than the scores of students who take only the core mathematics curriculum. These increases are on a score scale ranging from 1 to 36 and represent statistically significant gains. However, [the data] also shows that additional coursework in social studies—the high school subject area that overlaps most closely with the kinds of college social sciences courses used to establish the ACT College Readiness Benchmark for Reading—results in an average ACT Reading Test score no more than 1 point higher than that associated with the recommended three years of social studies. And this includes even those students who took the equivalent of five years of social studies in high school. This suggests that taking additional years of social studies coursework alone does not have a large differential impact on the readiness of ACT tested students to handle the level of reading required in college social sciences courses. However, as will be discussed in the next chapter, what appears to matter in readiness for college-level reading is not the number of courses students take, but what is being asked of students in these courses.
ACT’s Recommended Core Curriculum
▼ English: at least four years (typically English 9, English 10, English 11, and English 12)
▼ Mathematics: at least three years (typically Algebra I, Algebra II, and Geometry)
▼ Social studies: at least three years (may include U.S. History, World History, U.S. Government, Economics, Geography, Psychology, European History, state history)
▼ Natural sciences: at least three years (typically General/Physical/Earth Science, Biology, and Chemistry)
March 2006 - Reading Between the Lines: What the ACT Reveals about College Readiness in Reading (page 10).
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