Star-Journbal Editor
The test results are in, and by any measure, it seems the Hillsboro High School Class of 2007 has its ACT together when it comes to its performance on the college entrance exam.
The 41 Hillsboro seniors who took the exam had a composite ACT (American College Testing Assessment) score of 23.7; far higher than the Kansas (21.8) and national (21.1) averages.
In fact, 23.7 is the second highest ACT composite score since 1994; exceeded only by the 24.1 in 2000 and 2003.
"It's one of the better scores that we've had," said principal Dale Honeck, who presented the results Oct. 9 to the USD 410 Board of Education. "We're considerably ahead of the national and state scores."
The ACT is arguably the most important test of a college-bound student's high school career. The test allows college admission officers to judge all students by a common measuring stick.
Colleges commonly use ACT scores to determine academic scholarship awards. Admissions officers use the scores to predict academic performance in the first year of college.
"Our teachers do a good job of preparing our kids for the ACT," Honeck said. "We spend quite a bit of time in the English classroom and in math, getting them ready, and it really pays off."
Questions on the ACT are related directly to the material students have learned in high school. The test includes 215 multiple-choice questions, takes nearly three hours, and produces 12 separate scores; the composite being most important.
In addition to English and math, the ACT Assessment tests knowledge in reading and science reasoning.
Hillsboro students put up their highest composite scores in reading (25) compared to Kansas (22.3) and national (21.4).
English was second (24.3), compared to 21.3 and 20.6 for Kansas and the rest of the nation, respectively.
Science was third (23.4), compared to 21.16 and 20.9; and math (22.7), was closest to Kansas and the nation, which had (21.5) and (20.6).
Composite ACT scores range from 1-36. Nearly half of all test takers fall in the 17-23 range.
High ACT scores opens college coffers for students seeking academic scholarships. Students scoring 30 and higher, with sufficient grade-point averages to match, are highly sought after.
For example, at Tabor College, an ACT score of 32 is worth a Presidential Scholarship award of $40,000 ($10,000 per year).
At the University of Kansas, students who achieve a perfect 36 on the ACT, receive the Perfect Achievement Scholarship, which covers tuition, fees, housing with meals, and a textbook allowance.
"We've never had a 36 but we've had a 35, just close to perfect," Honeck said, adding that several Hillsboro students scored higher than 30 this year.
