Texas ACT scores and participation have dropped

Texas' high school graduates performed worse on the ACT college admissions exam than their counterparts from a decade ago, according to data from the nonprofit that administers the test.

Why it matters: An increasing number of graduates across the country do not meet the ACT's college readiness benchmarks, Axios' April Rubin reports.

The big picture: Nationwide, the class of 2023 had the worst ACT performance in more than three decades.

Zoom in: Texas' average composite score was 20.9 out of 36 in 2014 but dropped to 19.3 in this year's class.

The intrigue: The share of Texas students taking the test has also dropped.

• 40% of the state's graduating students took the ACT in 2014, compared with 23% this year.

State of play: Many public Texas universities no longer require ACT or SAT scores, including the University of Texas at San Antonio, the University of Texas at Austin and Texas A&M.