Abstract:
This study examined differences in participation or nonparticipation in an ACT preparation course, race/ethnicity, and socioeconomic status on ACT scores. Practice ACT scores were used as a covariate to control for individual differences in student scores. Participants consisted of 264 students from one graduating class at a large high school in Middle Tennessee. Five separate Analysis of Covariance tests were run to determine differences on composite scores and scores for each subtest of the ACT (English, math, reading, and science). Results indicated no statistically significant interaction effects between any group combinations of ACT preparation participation, race/ethnicity, and socioeconomic status. Results also yielded no statistically significant differences for ACT preparation participation or race/ethnicity, with no statistically significant differences existing between students who participated in an ACT preparation course and those who did not or between students of the majority and minority racial/ethnic groups. A statistically significant difference was found for socioeconomic status on English, mathematics, and science subtest scores but not for composite or reading scores.
