HCHS ACT scores build on improvements from 2011

Top 100 students post an average ACT score of 20.46

Special to the Enterprise

The 2012 HCHS ACT scores built on tremendous improvement from 2011 with another.2 composite score increase. The average composite for 246 juniors increased to 17.5 reflecting a 1.1 increase in the average score over the last two years.

“I am very pleased to see the continued upward momentum of our ACT scores. These improvements are directly attributable to the quality instruction which is being delivered daily at HCHS,” said Superintendent T. Michael Howard.

“It is very difficult to get all of our juniors to understand the importance of the ACT,” he said. “When assessing 246 students it is imperative that every student give their best effort to prevent lower scores from dragging down our average score. So many of our students simply don’t see the value of the ACT and therefore don’t give the test their best effort. Our goal for next year is to convince more of our students to try their best on the ACT in order to push our district average over 18.”

There were 76 students posting a composite score of 20 or above. The average composite score for the top 100 students was 20.46 with the average score for the top 50 students being 23.40.

“The number of students scoring above 20 and the average score of our top 50 students gives confirmation to HCHS parents that quality instruction is being delivered in all core areas at HCHS,” he said.

Since the inception of the new Next Generation Learners Accountability Model by the Kentucky Department of Education, performance on the ACT has become even more important to high schools. The new accountability model places 20 percent of the overall school score on student growth from the PLAN assessment to the ACT assessment.

“Increased attention to ACT performance and college and career readiness is and will continue to be a primary focus at HCHS,” said Howard.

Numerous programs put in place during the 2010-11-school year were expanded or continued by HCHS teachers during the 2011-12-school year. School administrators say these extra programs and efforts have resulted in the increases seen over the last two years.

Teachers who deliver instruction in the ACT assessed areas were challenged to strive to better meet the needs of their college bound students by focusing on the skills assessed by the ACT. Reference materials, such as the Barron’s ACT Prep books, were purchased and utilized. On-line ACT preparatory programs such as ACT Learning Express and ACT PrepMe were made available to teachers and students to enhance instruction.

HCHS staff members were sent to ACT training workshops to improve their knowledge of ACT standards and requirements. Workshops were offered through the FRYSC & 21st Century programs to help students prepare for the ACT. With these and many other efforts in place, the expectation for raising ACT scores has been laid and will continue to be built upon in future years at HCHS.

The following facts concerning HCHS ACT scores should help to reassure parents that HCHS is equipping students with the skills and knowledge necessary to perform very well on the ACT:

• The top 100 HCHS students posted an average composite score of 20.46.

• The top 50 HCHS students posted an average composite score of 23.40.

• The top 10 HCHS students posted an average ACT composite score of 27.

• 76 HCHS students posted composite scores of 20 or above.