Almost 2.1 million graduating seniors took the ACT, up from 1.9 million in the last school year.
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Only 41 percent of 2016 graduates made the benchmark math score of 19 compared to 44.5 percent of 2015 graduates, a news release from the Kentucky Department of Education said.
In 2015, KCS students averaged a 20.7 score and 24 percent had college-ready test scores.
Model High students were the only ones who showed improvement in 2016, with a 20.5 over 2015’s score of 20.
The district’s highest score went to Merrol Hyde Magnet (28.5), followed by Middle College High School at Vol State (24.6). Yet ACT research from 2008 also found that a student’s academic achievement by 8th grade has more influence on his or her college readiness than anything that happens in high school.
Eighty-nine percent of those who met benchmark scores in all four subject areas in 2014 were enrolled in public or private four-year colleges this year; just 26 percent of those who did not reach any benchmarks are enrolled in college. “Here, in Cobb, the number of students taking the ACT has increased, but we have such well-prepared students that our average has gradually gone up”.
At least two Will County school districts and one in Grundy County scored above state average on the American College Testing exam.
The latest statewide averages for ACT scores are out, and for the first time both Missouri and IL have a complete picture of how well their students did. “We still have work to do to continue to grow the composite…but we will celebrate it’s greater than the nation’s average”. IL seniors also were even with or higher than national scores in English, math and science. “Our student pool increased and that is not an excuse, but scores do fluctuate over a period of time”.
The state’s average composite score for 2016 public school graduates is 18.7.
According to CMCSS officials, students who do not wish to attend college do not give their best effort on the ACT, while seniors that re-take the test help pull the average scores higher.
The ACT is scored on a scale of 1 to 36. It ranked 29th among states overall and fourth among those that test all students.
Students at Minooka District 111 achieved the highest composite score yet for the district at 22.2.
The state is in the process of designing a new accountability model that incorporates a number of college and career readiness indicators beyond any one test. “They know it’s a college readiness exam”, Thiesfeldt said.
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According to data received from Marietta City Schools, students scoring at least 18 on the English test, 22 on the Algebra test, 22 on the Social Science test, and 23 on the Biology test have a 50 percent chance of obtaining a B or higher in the corresponding college courses.
