The Condition of College - Career Readiness 2018 - Florida Key Findings

Oct 9, 2026

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The report presents 2018 Florida college- and career-readiness results, highlighting performance trends on the ACT and related college readiness benchmarks. It summarizes composite score comparisons with 2014 and 2017, detailed outcomes for English, math, reading, and science, and the share of graduates meeting zero, one, and multiple ACT benchmarks. It also covers STEM interest and STEM benchmark attainment, physics-taking effects, career readiness via ACT WorkKeys NCRC levels, and modeled impact of a 0.1 composite score increase, alongside test-taking behaviors affecting access and opportunity.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages12

Reading Time30 min

AccessFree to download

Performance

Benchmarks and subtests

STEM

Interest, scores, and physics-taking

Career Readiness

WorkKeys NCRC likelihood

Impact

Modeled outcomes from score gains

Behaviors that Impact Access and Opportunity

Retesting and score-sending patterns

The Condition of College & Career Readiness 2018 Florida Key Findings Performance • In the 2018 Florida graduating class, 119,543 graduates (66 percent) took the ACT test with a Composite score average of 19.9. This compares to 129,676 (81 percent) with an average of 19.6 in 2014. Nationally, 55% of 2018 graduates took the ACT with an average Composite score of 20.8. • The 2018 Florida graduating class average English score was 19.2. This compares to 19.0 and 18.7 in 2017 and 2014, respectively. • The 2018 Florida graduating class average math score was 19.3. This compares to 19.4 and 19.5 in 2017 and 2014, respectively. • The 2018 Florida graduating class average reading score was 21.1. This compares to 21.0 and 20.7 in 2017 and 2014, respectively. • The 2018 Florida graduating class average science score was 19.5. This compares to 19.4 and 19.1 in 2017 and 2014, respectively. • In 2018, 21 percent of Florida graduates met all four ACT College Readiness Benchmarks. This compares to 21 and 19 percent of 2017 and 2014 graduates, respectively. ~ In 2018, 40 percent of Florida graduates met zero ACT College Readiness Benchmarks. This compares to 41 and 41 percent of 2017 and 2014 graduates, respectively. ~ In 2018, 53 percent of Florida graduates met the ACT English College Readiness Benchmark. This compares to 52 and 53 percent of 2017 and 2014 graduates, respectively. ~ In 2018, 32 percent of Florida graduates met the ACT Math College Readiness Benchmark. This compares to 32 and 33 percent of 2017 and 2014 graduates, respectively. ~ In 2018, 43 percent of Florida graduates met the ACT Reading College Readiness Benchmark. This compares to 43 and 38 percent of 2017 and 2014 graduates, respectively. ~ In 2018, 29 percent of Florida graduates met the ACT Science College Readiness Benchmark. This compares to 29 and 27 percent of 2017 and 2014 graduates, respectively. • In 2018, 38,196 (32 percent) of Florida graduates met three or four ACT College Readiness Benchmarks. This compares to 40,616 and 38,656 (31 and 30 percent) out of 2017 and 2014 graduates, respectively. For reference, the national percentage of 2018 graduates meeting three or four benchmarks was 38% . • 46 percent of 2018 Florida graduates were Proficient or Above Proficient in understanding complex texts. STEM • In 2018, 53,819 Florida graduates (45 percent) indicated having an interest in STEM majors and/or careers.~ Nationally, 45 percent of graduates indicated having an interest in STEM. • Compared to a 2018 Florida graduating class average ACT STEM score of 19 .7, graduates in 2017 and 2014 had STEM averages of 19.7 and 19. 5, respectively. • Compared to 15 percent of 2018 Florida graduates meeting the ACT STEM College Readiness Benchmark, graduatesin 2017 and 2014 had STEM Benchmark percentages of 15 and 13, respectively. © 2018 by ACT, Inc. All rights reserved. MR00878 [www.act.org/research](www.act.org/research) 1 Florida The Condition of College & Career Readiness 2018 • In 2018, 58,852 Florida graduates (49 percent) indicated taking physics. This compares to 52 and 51 percent for the 2017 and 2014 graduating classes, respectively. • 2018 graduates taking physics had an average science score of 20 . 5, compared to 18.8 for students not taking physics. ~ 36 percent of 2018 Florida graduates taking physics met the ACT Science College Readiness Benchmark, compared to 24 for students not taking physics. ~ 2018 Florida graduates meeting the ACT STEM College Readiness Benchmark had an average science score of 28.7. This compares to 28.0 in 2014. • 2018 Florida graduates meeting the ACT STEM College Readiness Benchmark had an average math score of 28.2. This compares to 28.3 in 2014. Career Readiness • In 2018, 25,341 Florida graduates (21 percent) were likely to attain the Gold ACT WorkKeys National Career Readiness Certificate® or higher based upon ACT Composite score, compared to 499,653 (26 percent) na

FAQs

What was the 2018 average ACT Composite score for Florida graduates?

In 2018, 119,543 Florida graduates (66%) took the ACT with an average Composite score of 19.9, compared with 19.6 in 2014.

How many Florida graduates met all four ACT College Readiness Benchmarks in 2018?

In 2018, 21% of Florida graduates met all four ACT College Readiness Benchmarks, the same as 2017 and higher than 2014 (19%).

What does the report estimate would happen if the 2018 state average ACT Composite score increased by 0.1?

An increase of 0.1 is estimated to result in 298 more students enrolling in college, 331 more persisting to year two, 239 fewer needing remedial English, 373 fewer needing remedial math, 350 more persisting to year four, and 368 more earning a postsecondary degree within six years.

Oct 9, 2026

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