District 203, 204 Students Outsmart Peers on the ACT

More than 50 percent of graduates from District 203’s Class of 2011 were ready and prepared for college, based on the results of recently released ACT scores.

While students in consistently have composite scores above 25 on the college placement test, this year students in set a record, with the district experiencing the largest score increase in a single year.

At District 203, 53 percent of graduates met four benchmarks that are said to correlate to success as a first year college student, according to a news release from District 203. The four benchmarks District 203 students show competency in are English, algebra, social science and science. The national average of students who are competent in the four areas is 25 percent and the state average is 23 percent.

“We are proud of what these young people accomplish in many aspects of their lives from academic performance to community contributions. Scores on standardized tests are just one of the benchmarks,” Superintendent Mark Mitrovich said in a news release. “Most of all, what we hope to accomplish through our work with our students is to instill the ability to learn, to think and to problem-solve because what we need to know today will not be the same tomorrow. The teachers and staff are doing a tremendous job at succeeding in this goal.”

Composite scores at District 203 have been consistently above 25 for the last five years, with students achieving a composite of 25.4 in 2011, according to District 203.

The state average ACT score is 20.9, the highest its been in a decade, according to a story in the Chicago Tribune.

Illinois is one of four states requiring all high school juniors to take the test as part of its Prairie State Achievement Examination. The ACT consists of curriculum-based tests in English, mathematics, reading and science and is scored on a 36-point scale.

District 204's average composite score grew from 23.9 to 24.5 over the past year, a .6 percent increase, the largest increase the district has ever earned in a single year, according to a news release from Indian Prairie School District 204. Since 2006, the district's scores have increased by 1.3, whereas the state’s growth over the last five years was .4 percent.

"We're thrilled with the growth we are seeing on our students' ACT scores," Superintendent Kathy Birkett said in a news release. "The scores reflect not only the hard work of our students, but the work of our teachers at all grade levels, including the middle school level, where teachers have focused on the Explore test, which directly prepares students for the ACT."