Parish high schools see decrease in ACT scores

Every high school in St. Mary Parish saw a decrease in its average ACT scores in 2014.
The state began requiring all public high school students to take the ACT test last year, regardless of whether they planned to attend college.
A record-setting 564 St. Mary students took part in the national aptitude test used to measure core skills essential for success during a student’s first year of college, St. Mary Superintendent Donald Aguillard said in a news release.
There were 49 more students tested in 2014 when the average score was 18 than in 2013, when the average composite in the parish was 18.8, Aguillard said.
The state average composite was 19.2.
“The trending decline of ACT composite averages is reason for concern despite the growing number of students taking the test whose postsecondary aspirations do not include university studies,” Aguillard said.
St. Mary Parish schools incorporate practice ACT testing materials and online test-prep licenses to aid students in comprehending the complexities of the college readiness benchmarks, the superintendent said in the news release.
“Actions at the school and district level will continue to broaden the availability of college benchmark resources and test preparation options,” Aguillard said.
Average composite ACT scores for students in Louisiana were the same or slightly down from 2013 to 2014, depending on the way they were calculated, state officials said Wednesday, while also noting that more students are taking the college preparatory test and more are scoring well enough to qualify for state TOPS awards.
Louisiana ACT scores are now used in figuring accountability ratings for schools and school districts.
The education department notes in its analysis that students can take the test more than once. When students’ best scores are considered, the state average score is 19.1, unchanged from 2013; when the “most recent” scores are averaged, the average is 19.2 for 2014, down from 19.5 in 2013.
The department said it uses all public school seniors’ highest ACT scores in figuring school performance ratings. The ACT testing organization uses the “most recent score” of students who take the test more than once.
The analysis of test scores released Wednesday follows figures released earlier this year showing that more students are earning high enough ACT scores to qualify for at least the minimum scholarship from the state TOPS program.
The Department of Education said 26,805 earned at least a 17 on the ACT, compared to 25,073 in 2013. A 17 is the minimum score to qualify for a TOPS Tech award, which covers tuition at community and technical colleges.
The number of students qualifying for various, more lucrative TOPS awards increased as well. For instance, 3,116 did well enough to qualify for TOPS Honors, a program paying tuition and fees plus $800 at any Louisiana public university. In 2013, the number qualifying for TOPS Honors was 2,938.
Education Superintendent John White said providing all students access to the ACT free of charge has created new college and career training opportunities for students.
“In providing all students access to these opportunities, we stopped cherry-picking students to take the ACT,” White said in an emailed statement. “At the same time, our students’ readiness for the challenges of universities and community colleges is not at the level it needs to be, especially in mathematics. Our state needs to keep raising its expectations if we expect to compete.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.