This is the second consecutive year that we've had 30-year lows in ACT scores — a trend that just cannot be allowed to continue.

Yes, the class of 2023 has the lowest ACT scores in 32 years.

Since 1991!

The class of 2023 had the worst ACT performance in more than three decades, according to newly released data from the nonprofit that administers the college admissions test.

Why it matters: The scores are the latest indication of the COVID-19 pandemic's impact on education, with academic performance and test scores declining at all levels. The 2023 cohort was in its first year of high school when the pandemic began.

By the numbers: The 2023 composite score, an average of the scores for the English, math, reading and science sections, was 19.5 out of 36.

Of course, once again, we're blaming the pandemic. And yeah, MAYBE WE SHOULDN'T HAVE SHUT DOWN SCHOOLS FOR TWO YEARS.

But I wonder when we're gonna stop blaming Covid for this stuff and just buck up, admit we're getting dumber, and fix it. These scores have been in decline since 2017, and that was long before Covid escaped from Wuhan.

Another thing going on here: College enrollment has now been in decline for three consecutive years. Colleges are even getting rid of minimum requirements in some cases in order to allow students easier access. Maybe that's because one in four students doesn't meet any of the ACT's college readiness benchmarks — "The minimum scores for predicted success in college courses."

Yeah, we've got a huge problem here, and we need to fix it. We can't simply continue to blame Covid either, because it's deeper than that. Next year it'll be 33-year lows, the year after that 34, and so on. Somewhere along the line, we gotta fix it.

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