New Data Show Washington Students Continue to Outperform Their Peers Across the Country in College Readiness Assessments

OLYMPIA—October 16, 2025—Washington’s K–12 public school students are outperforming their peers nationwide when it comes to college readiness, according to recently released data from the College Board and ACT.

The College Board administers SAT and Advanced Placement (AP) exams, and ACT administers the ACT exam. All three exams are intended to assess a student’s readiness for college, and students can earn college credit if they earn a qualifying score on an AP exam.

“With advocacy from my office and other partners, our Legislature has steadily increased student access to advanced courses over the past few years,” said State Superintendent Chris Reykdal. “These efforts have created more opportunities for students to earn college credit while in high school, and to earn high scores on national college admissions tests, and we are already seeing the dividends from those investments. Our students are outperforming their peers consistently on these and other comparative tests.”

Washington continues to see growth in both participation in and achievement on the AP, SAT, and ACT exams, with performance consistently above the national average.

“Our students are looking to be challenged,” said James Noble, a high school social studies teacher for Spokane Public Schools. “When we give students the opportunity to engage in coursework that pushes their thinking, they rise to the moment. Our learners are graduating high school better prepared for college, career, and lifelong success. They make me proud every day!”

Advanced Placement Results 

Advanced placement courses provide students with the opportunity to earn college-level credit while still in high school. In order to earn college credit, students must achieve a qualifying score—3, 4, or 5—on an AP assessment.

In 2025, 54,313 Washington public school students took a total of 99,949 AP exams. Of those, 76,929, or 77%, earned a score that qualifies for college credit. Both the number of AP exams taken by Washington students and qualifying scores have steadily increased each year since 2021. 

Data from 2024 (the most recent year this information is available) indicates Washington public K–12 students potentially earned more than 204,000 college credits. 

“Having access to AP courses, and achieving a qualifying score to earn college credit, lowers future out-of-pocket costs for higher education,” Reykdal said. “It’s a much smaller investment while students are in high school than it is when they are in college, and our students are showing us year after year that they are up for the challenge.”

For the 2024 exams, the Legislature invested to help students identified as low-income and their families by covering the costs of AP exam fees. This investment helped students and families save more than $795,000 on exam fees. Due to budget constraints, the 2025 Legislature did not provide continued funding for the fee waivers. 

SAT Results

Colleges across the country often use student scores on the SAT and ACT during the admissions process. The SAT evaluates students in reading, writing, and math. The ACT consists of four sections: English, reading, math, and science, plus an optional writing section.

In 2025, 28,870 Washington students took the SAT. Those numbers are down slightly from 2024 but the overall trend in the number of students taking the SAT is up since 2021. Students are considered college and career ready when their SAT scores meet the benchmarks in both Evidence-Based Reading and Writing (ERW) and in Math.

The table below compares Washington students’ achievement on the 2025 SAT compared to the national average.

Percentage of Students Who Met the SAT Benchmark by Subject Area (2025) 

The graphs below compare Washington students’ SAT performance in ERW and Math to the national average, going back to the 2016–17 school year. 

Long-Term Trend in SAT Evidence-Based Reading and Writing Scores 

Long-Term Trend in SAT Math Scores 

ACT Results 

Because many states require ACT participation for high school graduation and Washington does not, the number of Washington students who take the ACT is traditionally low compared to other states.

Still, 3,088 Washington students took the ACT in 2025. Of those, 80% met the benchmark in English, 62% met the benchmark in math, and 71% and 62% met the benchmark in reading and science, respectively. A total of 64% of Washington’s ACT test-takers met at least three of the four benchmarks.  

The average composite ACT score for Washington students who took the exam is at a 5-year high. This marks the third year in a row where Washington students’ composite score average is 5 points or higher than the national average. The ACT composite score is the average of each test taker’s English, math, and reading scores rounded to the nearest whole number. For example a student with a score of 21 in English, 24 in math, and 25 in reading would have a composite score of 23. 

“Across the state, our students continue to push themselves in advanced courses and on advanced tests, and they continue to perform well above the national average,” Reykdal said. “These results are a true testament to the efforts of our students, educators, and families.”