In its annual "Condition of College & Career Readiness" report released today, ACT found that California students taking the organization's college readiness test surpassed the nation’s scores in English, reading, math, and science. The ACT assessment, which is administered to high school students, serves as a good indicator of how much a student is academically prepared to pursue a postsecondary education.

Even though California outperformed the nation in the preceding subjects, ACT still believes that the state has room to grow in order to improve college and career readiness. The organization emphasized the need for continued enhancement of students’ reading and science skills, since at least 10 percent of California’s students were only 1 to 2 points below the Benchmark.

Benchmarks on ACT subject-area tests correspond with the level of achievement required for a student to have a 50 percent chance of obtaining a B or higher in the respective college course during the first year. Research has demonstrated that students who have met three or four ACT College Readiness Benchmarks are more likely to succeed in postsecondary education, according to the organization.

ACT emphasized the importance of college preparatory core curriculum when it comes to achieving Benchmarks. In California, 59 percent of students who took college preparatory core curriculum met the math ACT College Readiness Benchmark, as opposed to the 45 percent of non-core taking students that met the Benchmark.

This year, California had 113,732 students from the 2014 graduating class who took the ACT, or 29 percent of California’s total graduating class. Of the 113,732 students who took the ACT, 86 percent of hope to pursue a postsecondary education.

To access the entire Condition of College & Career Readiness report for California, visit act.org.