Fall in a high school is full of traditions. Nervous freshmen on the first day of school, excited fans at the first home football game (which is this Friday night at 7:00pm in case you haven't heard!), and the annual release of ACT Data from the year before.
The ACT is a test of college readiness. Usually between 1/2 and 2/3 of our graduating seniors choose to take the test as a part of their post secondary plans. As anyone who knows me is aware, I do not put all of my faith in any test or standardized tests as a whole as a way of measuring the progress of a student or a school. That being said, each test has its place and when viewed in its proper context, it does give us a piece of the picture of the system we are trying to create and the students we are trying to prepare.
We get A LOT of data back from ACT and it takes a while to digest. One of the pieces I appreciate the most though is the one that shows what percentage of our students achieved a score on each test, and overall, that ACT says predicts college success. This cut score is 20. If it has been awhile since you took the ACT, the score range is 0-36. Looking at eventual success or failure at college, ACT has determined that scoring 20 or better on the subtests and the composite as a whole, are positively correlated with success in college.
Here at Okoboji we are used to getting good results on this measure. This year is no different. Below is the chart that was included in the report:
The ACT is a test of college readiness. Usually between 1/2 and 2/3 of our graduating seniors choose to take the test as a part of their post secondary plans. As anyone who knows me is aware, I do not put all of my faith in any test or standardized tests as a whole as a way of measuring the progress of a student or a school. That being said, each test has its place and when viewed in its proper context, it does give us a piece of the picture of the system we are trying to create and the students we are trying to prepare.
We get A LOT of data back from ACT and it takes a while to digest. One of the pieces I appreciate the most though is the one that shows what percentage of our students achieved a score on each test, and overall, that ACT says predicts college success. This cut score is 20. If it has been awhile since you took the ACT, the score range is 0-36. Looking at eventual success or failure at college, ACT has determined that scoring 20 or better on the subtests and the composite as a whole, are positively correlated with success in college.
Here at Okoboji we are used to getting good results on this measure. This year is no different. Below is the chart that was included in the report:
LOCAL represents Okoboji High School. The chart compares our % of students who scored 20 or higher with the state and national data. As you can see our students were considerably higher in all categories than national and even state percentages. Overall 78% of our students scored 20 or higher on composite (which is an average of the four subtests). This is 8% higher than the state average and almost 20% higher than the nation! These are outstanding numbers. As you can see we were strong across the board this year with a particularly high number of 20+ scores in reading and science.
Sometimes we get used to success and forget to celebrate it. This is something to celebrate. It is another piece of data that shows how well we are doing on accomplishing our school district mission "[To] prepare each learner with the knowledge and skills necessary for a productive life in a changing world."
We should be proud of this data. Parents, students, faculty, and community members alike should take great pride in the great thing our students are doing every day. As I said above, this is just one small piece of the puzzle but it is one we should share and celebrate. Another reason to be Proud to Be ONE!
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