In 2010, the national average score for the SAT verbal portion was 498. During that year, Ohio public school students had an average score of 537. Their average math score was 550 which compared favorably to the national average of 511. The writing portion of the SAT yielded a national average of 488, while Ohio's public school students had an average score of 518.
The ACT is a standardized test taken by high school students across the country that measures English, science, math, and reading abilities. Colleges look at ACT scores as well as SAT scores, though the SAT is still the most popular widely taken among Ohio public school students. The highest possible ACT score is 36, and the national average score is 21. Ohio's public school students had an average score of 21.8, though only about two-thirds of Ohio's public high school students elected to take the test.
The Ohio Achievement Test is given to public school students in the state of Ohio, from third to eighth grade. Students are tested in mostly math and reading, though there is a science portion on the fifth and eighth grade Ohio Achievement Tests. The test results from 2010 showed that every grade scored 70 percent or higher on the reading portion, with sixth graders scoring the highest at 84 percent. Math scores showed most grades scored at least 70 percent, but fifth graders came in at 67 percent and eighth graders at 69 percent. Meanwhile, 70 percent of fifth graders and 65 percent of eighth graders achieved the proper science requirements.
The Ohio Graduation Test is given to tenth and eleventh grade public school students in Ohio and tests their abilities in math, reading, science, social studies, and writing. In 2010, tenth graders scored at least 80 percent in every category, except science where only 73 percent met the minimum standards. Eleventh graders did much better, and though 85 percent of them met the minimum science requirements, 93 percent of them met the writing requirements. Scores for the other subjects were between 89 and 92 percent.