U.S. News & World Report ranks Idaho high for college readiness

U.S. News & World Report ranks Idaho fifth in the nation for preparing students for college. Idaho’s top five ranking is based on students most “prepared for college, based on the percentage of students that met ACT and SAT benchmarks.”

The publication’s 2018 ranking says more than 55 percent of Idaho high school students met either the ACT or SAT benchmarks while taking the college entrance exams. For comparison, the average for Rocky Mountain States was just over 42 percent of students who met the benchmarks.

Idaho is the only western state included in the top five list. Other states in the top five include Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Michigan.

“Teachers across Idaho are working hard to prepare our high school students for the next step and it is great to see those efforts and the results recognized,” State Board of Education President Dr. Linda Clark said, in a news release.

Idaho results reflect student preparedness for all high school graduates because Idaho requires students take a college entrance exam as a graduation requirement. Most other states do not have such a requirement, meaning only students planning to go to college take the exams.