Report Reveals Slight Improvement In ACT Scores, College Readiness in Kentucky
By Cecil Lawson
KyNewsGroup
cecil@kynewsgroup.com
Kentucky students still need work in preparing for college, according to a recent report released by a national testing firm.
ACT, Inc. released the College and Career Readiness Report last month, and both national and state numbers indicated much room for improvement.
Across the country, 1 in 4 high school graduates who took the ACT scored high enough to be considered ready for college-level courses in the four subject areas measured by the test.
This number represents a slight improvement from 2007, when 23 percent met all four benchmarks.
InKentucky, only 16 percent of graduates who took the test were considered college ready.
According to ACT’s guidelines, those students who are able to reach testing benchmarks have a 50 percent chance of scoring a B or a 75 percent chance of scoring a C in a entry-level college class.
Benchmarks are considered an 18 for English, 22 for Math, 21 for reading, and 24 for science.
57 percent ofKentuckystudents reached the English benchmark, 43 percent in reading, 28 percent in math, and 21 percent in science.
On the national level, 66 percent met the benchmark for English, 52 percent in reading, 45 percent in math, and 25 percent in science.
Since 2009, when the ACT became a mandatory test for high school juniors, the percentage of graduates reaching the benchmark has risen 2 percent for English, reading, and math, and 1 percent for science.
BathCountystudents scored an average 17 in English, 17.5 in math, 18.2 in reading, and 18.1 in science, creating an average composite score of 17.8.
The national average composite score for 2011 was 21.1
The highest possible composite score on the exam is 36, which was reached by only one tenth of one percent nationwide in 2011.
The ACT is a college admission and placement examination that has been used nationwide since 1960.
It is unlike aptitude tests or IQ tests because its questions are directly related to what students have learned in their high school courses in English, math, and science.
College and Career Readiness are defining principles ofKentucky’s latest round of educational reform, which is set to begin during this current school year.
According to a report onKentucky’s own state of college and career readiness in 2011, ACT Inc. recommends common core and content standards, rigorous high school courses, early monitoring and intervention, and long-term studies of student performance to guide decision-makers in school policy.
