The Tennessee Department of Education is encouraging high school seniors to take advantage of the state’s free ACT retake opportunities this fall.

Tennessee was the first state in the nation to offer public high school seniors the opportunity to take the ACT two times for free during normal school hours. Students typically take the test once in the spring of their junior year, and then under the program have an opportunity to retake the ACT in the fall of their senior year.

The Tennessee Department of Education (TDOE) announced another sign of education recovery from the pandemic this week.The department says ACT participation among public school students is now back to pre-pandemic levels. In 2021, participation across the state sunk to 96%, but it has now risen to 98%. The 2018-19 graduating class is the last to have a participation rate that high.

Tennessee received national recognition Tuesday for its work to help all students fulfill their requirements for college admission.ACT, Inc. awarded the Tennessee Department of Education (TDOE) with its inaugural ACT State Equity and Access Champion Award, which celebrates the state’s commitment to postsecondary access and its standing leading the nation in ACT access.

In yet another data point on missed learning during the pandemic, ACT scores from this year’s high school graduates dropped to their lowest level in three decades, according to a report released Wednesday.Exam-takers averaged 19.8 out of a possible 36 total points on the college admissions test, the first time since 1991 that nationwide results dipped below 20.