Local schools ranked according to ACT test results

Rankings are out comparing the performance of Kentucky high schools on the ACT college entrance exam, and all three of Whitley County’s school district are in the top half when compared to state counterparts.

The rankings were compiled and released this week. Scoring highest among the county’s three districts was the Corbin Independent School District with an overall composite average score of 20.1 – tied with Fayette County for 18th place among the state’s 174 school districts.

"The test is supposed to be a predictor of college readiness and success. I think this reflects well on our students and what is going on in our district," said Ed McNeel, Superintendent of Corbin Schools. "We’ve moved up. We feel good about that."

For three years now, Kentucky has required that all high school juniors take the ACT. Before then, taking the test was not mandatory, but instead a decision that was up to students and parents. But educators are now using the results from the test to change curriculum and compare the efficacy of their efforts to other school districts, not just in Kentucky, but nationwide. The ACT is the most widely used standardized test in the nation, and is well respected as being one of the premier tools for determining college-readiness.

The test is broken down into four parts: English, math, reading and science. The highest score possible in each part, and overall, is a 36. The average composite score used by most colleges if roughly 21. About 50 percent of those who take the test score lower than 21. Only six school districts in Kentucky had average composite scores of 21 or higher.

At Corbin, 153 juniors took the ACT last school year. The group averaged 20.2 in English, 19.4 in math, 20.7 in reading and 19.7 in science.

Williamsburg Independent Schools had the highest composite average scores for two years running among local schools, but slipped a bit this past year. Juniors at Williamsburg scored a composite of 18.6 on average, a drop of one point from last year’s composite of 19.6. The district tied for 68th in the state when compared to all other schools, a sharp drop from the position it held in 2010 of 21.

Loren Connell, Director of Instruction for the Williamsburg Independent School District, said the drop was being scrutinized carefully and that proactive measures where being taken to institute programs and ideas that could shore up performance on the tests. He characterized the drop as a "natural slope of ups and downs" with ACT scores, noting that even top performing schools dropped some in the 2011 reports, and that it is difficult to account for differences in the makeup of junior classes from year to year.

"You are looking at a district that has been in or near the top 20 for the past two years. Even with quality districts, they are going to have years where the composite score is going to drop," Connell said. "There’s an ebb and flow there."

Connell noted that a separate report, that includes seniors who have retaken the test as well, raises Williamsburg’s average composite to 20.4.

Williamsburg Superintendent Denny Byrd said it’s encouraging that district students are improving their scores when they retake the test.

"To me, the more important thing here is college readiness," Byrd said. "If they are a 20.4 when they graduate from us … I’m a lot happier with that number. We weren’t happy we went down, though, and we are always looking for ways to improve."

Sixty-three juniors from Williamsburg took the test. The average scores across the four categories were: 18.4 in English, 17.7 in math, 18.8 in reading and 19 in science.

The ACT test is so important because students can qualify for attendance at better universities, and are able to obtain more grants and scholarship the higher the score.

The county’s largest school district, Whitley County Schools, tied for 74th with nine other districts in the report.

Whitley juniors scored an average composite of 18.5. In the four categories, the averages were: 18.2 in English, 17.5 in math, 18.8 in reading and 18.9 in science.

All told, 272 juniors took the test in the school district last year.

The district’s average composite score rose from 18.1 to 18.5 compared to 2009-10, and the district moved up to 74th from 90th position when compared to all other state districts.

Like Williamsburg, Whitley County’s graduating class saw its scores increase over junior year scores.

Paula Trickett, Deputy Superintendent for the Whitley County Schools, said the results were generally encouraging.

"We are encouraged by the increase in the average composite ACT score for both our juniors and our graduating seniors, and especially by the fact that our growth out-paced the state growth. While ranking 74th out of the 174 school districts in Kentucky is certainly better than ranking 90th, we realize that much work remains to be done. Our commitment to the students of Whitley County is that we will continue to refocus and refine our efforts, until our student are as well prepared for life after high school as any student in this state. We are confident that as we continue this process, our scores will continue to rise."