As the University of Alabama grows and expands, new buildings are erected, and facilities are renovated to raise the standards of UA life. UA’s admission standards have followed suit, enacting a slight raise in accepted standardized test scores.

The hike in standards raised UA’s minimum ACT entrance score to 21, equal to the national test score average, according to ACT, Inc. The score is above the average test score of Alabama high school students, though, at 20.3.

For UA students who applied in 2009 or earlier, the strictest admissions standards were a 20 ACT or 970 SAT.

“A student with a 21 ACT or 1000 SAT [math and critical reading only] along with a cumulative GPA of 3.0 should be successful at the University,” Mary Spiegal, executive director for undergraduate admissions, said of current standards.

Spiegal said decisions regarding admissions are based on GPA and course schedule as well as standardized tests, but the 3.0 remained the same throughout the changes.

The state’s stagnant progress stands in contrast to the average ACT scores of entering UA freshmen classes, which have been several points above the national average for the past five years and steadily rising every year.

Beginning with an average of 24.3 in 2006, the average score rose to 25.4 in 2011, according to a chart provided by Spiegal.

Freshmen classes since 2006 have also been increasingly larger and, as of 2011, have included more out-of-state students than in-state.

Though these numbers might initially worry potential in-state recruits and parents, Chris Joiner, a junior majoring in biology, believes the Capstone’s standards can reflect well on the state as much as on the University.

“Its no secret that our state’s education system has its problems and, in many areas, is below par,” Joiner, from Seminole, Ala., said. “That said, I believe the University is one of the leaders in the state on pushing forward on the education battlefront. By raising standards, UA is sending the message that high school students need to push themselves. UA has not raised its standards to unachievable heights but merely raised the bar.”

While scores have remained below average, Alabama has seen marked progress in ACT participation in the past five years.

More than 32,000 Alabama students took the test in 2011, as opposed to 28,000 in 2008, according to an August 2011 Alabama Department of Education press release.

“We continue to see consistent, steady progress in our students’ ACT participation and scores,” said Joe Morton, former State Superintendent of Education, in the press release. “The fact that more and more students are taking the ACT indicates that a two- and/or four-year college education is a priority for many Alabama students—a very encouraging sign for their future as well as for the future of our state.”