By Allison Peck
New information about student performance in Nebraska schools is expected later this fall, giving families and school districts a more current look at how students are doing in the classroom.
The Nebraska Department of Education released statewide ACT results Oct. 14, showing Nebraska students earned an average composite score of 18.8 in 2026. That was down from 19.2 in 2025, but the state continued to score above the average for states that require all students to take the exam.
The ACT measures college readiness in English, reading, math and science. Nebraska requires public school juniors to take the exam as part of the state’s Nebraska Student-Centered Assessment System, known as NSCAS.
Nebraska’s average remained above the 18.2 average among states that test all students. The national average was 19.2, but only about 36% of students nationwide take the ACT, compared with all Nebraska public school juniors.
The latest scores reflect the 2026 graduating class, not the students currently in their junior year. The department said the results provide a less current picture of student achievement because many of those graduates took the ACT earlier in high school.
More current results are expected when the department releases its statewide NSCAS data later this fall. Those results will include ACT performance from students who were juniors during the 2025-26 school year.
The department said preliminary data indicate encouraging progress across Nebraska schools, though detailed results have not yet been released.
The upcoming data could give families and educators a better understanding of how students are performing across different subjects and how results compare with previous years.
For North Platte and surrounding communities, district-level results will be especially important. Statewide averages provide a broad look at student performance, but they do not show how individual districts are doing or whether students in a particular community are making progress.
Once the new data become available, comparisons between districts could help identify areas of improvement as well as subjects where students may need additional support.
The Nebraska Department of Education has not specified a release date in its Oct. 14 announcement.
The latest ACT results and additional information about the upcoming assessment data are available through the Nebraska Department of Education.