Two area school districts saw slight declines in average ACT scores for the Class of 2012, but the percentage of students deemed college-ready increased.
Naperville Unit District 203’s recent graduates scored a 25.3, down from 25.4 the previous year while Indian Prairie Unit District 204’s average came in at 24.2, down from 24.5.
Statewide, the Class of 2012 averaged 20.9 like the class before it, while the national average stayed flat at 21.1. In Illinois, all high school juniors are required to take the ACT. The highest possible score is 36.
Tim Wierenga, assistant superintendent for assessment and analytics in District 203, said the 2012 score “exceeded our expectations.” He was anticipating a bigger drop based on the group’s scores on other tests and because last year’s score was higher than usual.
The district’s overall composite scores have remained at 25 or above for the last six years. Broken down by school, Naperville Central High School’s composite score for 2012 was 25.5 while Naperville North’s was 25.1.
Roughly 56 percent of District 203’s Class of 2012 was deemed college-ready in all four ACT subjects – English, reading, math and science – up from 53 percent. Statewide, only 25 percent were considered college-ready in all four areas.
Wierenga said college-readiness scores can be difficult to improve, especially in science, which requires a score of 24 or better.
Going forward, the district is looking at the way it incorporates science reasoning skills into courses, not just science facts, and also is in the process of realigning English and math curricula with new Common Core standards.
In addition, officials are discussing how best to schedule tests that precede the ACT.
“Having those kinds of conversations about where we can place these tests to best prepare the students,” Wierenga said. “Have them see what scores are, where deficits are, where strengths are to prepare for being college-ready.”
In Indian Prairie Unit District 204, which serves portions of Aurora, Naperville, Bolingbrook and Plainfield, Neuqua Valley High School’s 2012 composite score was 25.2, Waubonsie’s was 23.2 and Metea’s was 23.6, according to Patrick Nolten, executive director of assessment, research and evaluation.
Nolten said he doesn’t consider the overall 0.3 drop in his district “educationally meaningful,” as scores tend to fluctuate from year to year.
“Generally, the trend is up,” he said. “Some years you get a silver medal not a gold.”
In the past five years, scores in Indian Prairie have risen by 0.8. Still, Nolten said the district is looking at the most recent scores as “an opportunity to find what we can do better.”
The district this year is implementing a new math curriculum to match up with Common Core standards and also is starting the process of revising its English language arts curriculum.
The ACT data also shows 48 percent of Indian Prairie’s Class of 2012 was deemed college-ready in all four subjects, up from 46 percent in 2011. But Nolten called the measure a “very loose indicator” of future success.
“The vast majority of our kids that graduate from here, whatever school they go to they do exceptionally well,” he said.
