Gender Differences in ACT Scores: Women Score Higher in English, Men in Math and Science

The American College Testing Program recently released the results for 2011 high school graduating seniors who took the ACT college entrance examination. The ACT test is graded on a scale of 1 to 36. The average score for women who took the test was 21.0. For men, the average score was 21.2. The average scores and the small gender gap in test scores have remained relatively constant over the past decade with only minor fluctuations.

Women held a considerable edge on the English part of the test with an average score of 20.9 compared to a 20.2 average score for men. In mathematics and science, men had an average score that was about a full point higher than the average score for women.

Some 69 percent of all women ACT test takers were rated as achieving a benchmark score which demonstrated that they were ready for college-level English classes. Only 64 percent of men reached the college-readiness benchmark in English. In contrast, 49 percent of men were deemed ready for college-level mathematics, compared to 41 percent of women who took the ACT.