Data Dismal for College-Bound *Our County* Seniors

And people wonder why we homeschool?

Only six percent of *Our County* high school seniors who took the ACT last year were ready for college-level coursework in English, algebra, social science and biology, according to data presented to the *Our County* Board of Education Tuesday evening.

Though that number sounds low, it’s not terribly far behind the state average of 19 percent.

The estimates were released by the ACT — a non-profit organization that provides the test used by many colleges to determine student admissions — and was based on the company’s established college readiness benchmark scores. According to charts presented to the school board this week, 46 percent of the 180 *Our County* seniors who took the ACT last year were categorized as being “ready” for college-level English composition, compared to 68 percent statewide.

In social sciences, 41 percent of *Our County* students (compared to 53 percent statewide) were considered ready.

But the lowest numbers came in algebra and biology — in both subjects, only 13 percent of *Our County* students who took the ACT were deemed “college-ready.” That’s compared to 35 percent in algebra and 25 percent in biology who were college-ready state-wide.

Only six percent of local students were deemed college-ready in all four assessment areas.

The “college-ready” determination is based on ACT’s research which indicates that students who reach certain testing benchmarks have a high probability of earning a C grade or higher in first-year college courses.

The average composite ACT score for *Our County* students was 18.9 — below the state average of 20.9 and national average of 21.1. A perfect score is 36.

The 2008 numbers reflect little change in *Our County* students’ scores. This year’s composite score for local students reflected a 0.1 drop from last year’s scores.

*Our County* students fell below the state average in each of the ACT’s four testing areas, scoring an average of 17.9 in English (compared to 20.5 state-wide), 17.7 in math (compared to 20.2 state-wide), 20.0 in reading (compared to 21.5 state-wide) and 19.3 in science (compared to 20.7 state-wide.)

School Board Chairman **** questioned the low results, noting that these were students who elected to take the ACT test and were likely the “best and brightest” who considered themselves college-bound.