Whitley Co. achieves high ACT composite ranking

Composite ACT scores for Whitley County High School’s current senior class are tied for 26th out of 228 schools in the state, according to a recent report.

Sitting at the top of the statewide ACT rankings is duPont Manual High School in Louisville with a 25.6 composite score. North Oldham High School ranked second with a 23.7 composite score, and Highlands High School in Fort Thomas rounds out the top three with a 23.1 composite score.

By comparison, Whitley County High School, Ohio County High School and Caldwell County High School all tied for 26th place with a composite score of 18.9. A total of 169 high schools ranked below Whitley, Ohio and Caldwell counties.

What makes Whitley County’s high ranking especially impressive is the rate of free/reduced lunches in the school, which currently stands at just under 75 percent. This is by far higher than any of the other previously mentioned schools, with Manual at just over 26 percent, North Oldham at just over 10 percent, and Highlands just under 10 percent.

Caldwell County’s free/reduced lunch rate is a little higher at 48 percent, and Ohio County is at 59 percent.

“We are in a high-poverty area, but we are also high-performing when it comes to our test scores,” said Whitley County Schools Superintendent John Siler. “That speaks volumes about our teachers, our instructional leadership, and our students. It shows that they want to get better, and be successful.”

Siler said that, while he is thrilled with this news, it should serve as incentive to continue working harder. “We always want to get better, and improve,” he said. “But to be coming off the pandemic, where some students were away from the classroom for almost an entire year, this type of a score is very satisfying.”

Each year, high school juniors are required to take the ACT. Scores are used as a post-secondary readiness indicator in the Kentucky summative assessment, opening doors for students to obtain a college education through various scholarship opportunities.