The report looked at test scores from the Michigan Merit Exam and the ACT as well as graduation and dropout percentages, spokeswoman for the Department of Education Jan Ellis said.

The study looked at the percent of students in each high school that achieved sufficient scores on each section of the ACT, Ellis said.

“The department wants to assure that all students graduate college-ready,” she said. “The way to do that is to analyze this data and see where improvements can be made.”

According to the report, the “college-ready” grades for each section of the ACT are 18 for English, 22 for math, 21 for reading and 24 for science, with the highest possible score in each category a 36. According to research by ACT, meeting each of these benchmarks suggests a random student has a 50 percent probability of obtaining at least a B and a 75 percent probability of obtaining at least a C in the corresponding college course.

Many schools in the state have high graduation rates but have poor standardized test scores, Ellis said.

“We want to make sure there is a value to a high school diploma,” she said. “Numerous schools that have really high graduation rates of 80 percent or more and they are scoring zero on the proficiency tests.”

MSU admissions director Jim Cotter said the study emphasizes a key point — improvements need to be made in many school districts — but is not a reason for people to start pointing fingers.

“Whenever new information becomes available, before reacting we have to step back and ask what it is saying,” he said. “We need to sit down and discuss what are the problems at hand.”

Cotter said these low test numbers have not affected the quality of high school students applying to MSU, nor is it an indication of the ability of current students.

Other than standardized test scores, the MSU Office of Admissions takes grades, extracurricular activities and personal statements into consideration when selecting students, Cotter said. These extra criteria have proven to be beneficial to the process of admitting students, he said.

“Our first- and second-year retention rate — that is over 90 percent, and graduation rates have been on the rise,” he said. “From our perspective, if a student wasn’t prepared, we wouldn’t admit them to the university.”

Holt High School junior Erin Biel has been preparing to apply for college next year, but she said she is not sure if she will be ready for university-level classes when the time comes.

Biel, who hopes to attend MSU, said many of her teachers give ACT practice tests and counselors are available for students to discuss their college plans. But she said she doesn’t know if she has learned the skills necessary to excel at the college level.

“I’m a student who has never had to study much,” she said. “I have an older brother at State and … he never really studies and procrastinates a lot. … I’m afraid of that happening to me.”

Cotter said one of the biggest factors in students doing well on standardized tests and succeeding in college is the rigor of the high school courses they take.

Advertising senior Emily Seidl went to Cranbrook-Kingswood High School, a private, college-preparatory in Bloomfield Hills, Mich. Seidl said the difficult curriculum she received at Cranbrook-Kingswood is what prepared her most for college.

“My school really emphasized study habits, not waiting until the last minute, really taking your time to do things,” Seidl said.