College Readiness Slips as More North Dakota Students Miss Benchmarks
Publication: American Experiment ND
Author: Catrin Wigfall
Date: January 14, 2026
You can read the original article HERE: https://americanexperimentnd.org/college-readiness-slips-as-more-north-dakota-students-miss-benchmarks/
College Readiness Slips as More North Dakota Students Miss Benchmarks
North Dakota’s 2025 high school graduating class is facing notable challenges in meeting college readiness benchmarks, according to ACT data that shows a significant portion of students are not achieving the scores associated with preparedness for entry-level college coursework.
Among the 82 percent of 2025 graduates who took the ACT, just over four in 10 students — 41 percent — met none of the four college readiness benchmarks in math, reading, English, and science.
According to ACT, the nonprofit organization that administers the exam, college readiness benchmarks measure whether a high school student has the skills to succeed in college-level courses. Students who meet the college readiness benchmarks “have a roughly 50 [percent] chance of earning a B or better in the corresponding first-year college courses and a roughly 75 [percent] chance of earning a C or better.”
ACT data from prior graduating classes shows that 84 [percent] of students who have met all four benchmarks graduate with postsecondary degrees within six years. Only 38 [percent] of students who meet zero benchmarks and 56 [percent] of students meeting one benchmark graduate in that time.
This troubling snapshot for North Dakota fits into a longer trend of declining ACT performance in the state, as my colleague Josiah Padley tracks here. Together, the rising share of students not meeting readiness standards and the gradual decline in ACT scores point to ongoing challenges in student achievement, with potential effects both academically and on future opportunities.
Programs like North Dakota’s College Ready English and Math (CREAM) initiative are one option available to strengthen essential skills before high school students enter college and face remedial courses for not meeting the ACT benchmarks.
Created as part of the state’s Choice Ready Initiative, which was introduced following changes under the Every Student Succeeds Act beginning in the 2017-18 school year, the program allows juniors and seniors to take targeted coursework in English and math while still in high school that aligns with college expectations. Upon successful completion of CREAM, students can avoid required college remediation courses for college-level English and math courses and save time and money in college that would be spent taking such courses.
Colleges and universities within the North Dakota University System (NDUS) admit students who have completed the CREAM program, and over the past several years have seen a decline overall in freshmen remediation rates. According to NDUS’s fall 2023 Freshmen Remediation Rates report (which appears to be the latest detailed data publicly released), about 19.3 percent of all first-time freshmen across the system were enrolled in remedial coursework, down from 24.2 percent in fall 2019.
While it’s encouraging that high school students in North Dakota have the opportunity to catch up through programs like CREAM, the rising number of students not meeting college readiness benchmarks underscores the importance of addressing declining achievement earlier on. Less than half of K-12 students are meeting grade-level benchmarks in reading and math, as measured by state tests, and North Dakota comes in at #40 in fourth- and eighth-grade math and reading scores on national assessments, when adjusted for socioeconomics and demographics.
These gaps in foundational math and reading skills suggest that a number of students are falling behind well before high school. Policymakers should monitor this trend and what it means for future education reform efforts and decision-making. Addressing learning challenges in the early grades could not only reduce the reliance on remediation later on but also improve long-term outcomes for students both in college and the workforce.
Catrin Wigfall is a Policy Fellow at American Experiment North Dakota.