Posted By: KLKN Newsroom
8@klkntv.com
LPS high school students score above ACT state, national averages.
Lincoln Public Schools high school students continued to score well above state and national averages in their performance on the ACT for 2011-12, according to results released Wednesday.
"One of our school district's major strategic goals is to increase high school graduation," said Jane Stavem, associate superintendent for Instruction at LPS. "We are focused on making sure we have high-level academic coursework available, encourage more students to take those high level courses and ensure that as many students as possible are taking the ACT."
A test considered to open the door to college for students, the ACT test was taken by 1,508 LPS seniors last year. In addition, 2,500 LPS juniors took the ACT for free through a statewide pilot program intended to provide a gateway to post-secondary education for all students. The Wednesday results did not include the performance of LPS juniors.
This year's ACT scores for LPS – slightly lower than last year – continue to show strong performance at almost one full point above state averages and almost two full points above national averages.
"LPS watches for trends in ACT scores, and one year does not indicate any kind of trend," Stavem stressed. "We would certainly not want to see a trend going down. But this year's numbers would indicate that we are preparing our students to be career- and college-ready."
Pat Hunter-Pirtle, director of Secondary Instruction at LPS, agreed. "We want to see our students taking a rigorous schedule into their senior year…In fact, the school district now includes the number of courses a student takes into consideration for calculating class rank and grade point average."
The ACT is America's most widely accepted college entrance exam and is designed to measure the skills needed for success in the first year of college coursework. It is required for admission to the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and to most colleges and universities in the central part of the country, and is the college entrance exam taken by most college-bound students in LPS. The multiple-choice test covers four skill areas: English, mathematics, reading and science reasoning – and the composite score is an average of these four areas. The highest possible ACT score is 36.
"We also continue to make sure our students understand the importance of the ACT, that it leads to college eligibility and scholarships," said Jadi Miller, director of Curriculum and Professional Development at LPS. "We must continue to help them understand that this is not just a Saturday test. It's a lot more."
Here are the major overall scores for LPS in 2010-11:
- Composite: 22.9 (compared to 22.0 for state average; 21.1 for national average)
- English: 22.5 (21.8 for state, 20.5, national)
- Mathematics: 22.8 (21.7 for state, 21.1, national)
- Reading: 23.0 (22.3 for state, 21.3, national)
- Science Reasoning: 22.8 (21.9 for state, 20.9, national)
