Greendale ACT Scores Increase From Last Year

The  saw a 0.8 increase in composite ACT scores from last year's average scores, going from 23.5 in 2011 to 24.3 in 2012, according to the national data.

There was a 3.5% increase in the number of students taking the test over the prior year. 

Greendale’s performance on the ACT has been consistent over last few years with slight fluctuations in performance, according to a report Greendale staff released earlier this week.

The ACT is a curriculum-based achievement exam designed to measure the academic skills taught in schools and deemed important for success in first-year college courses. All four-year colleges and universities in the United States accept ACT scores as part of prospective students’ academic portfolio. 

All students are required to take the PLAN test as sophomores to help students become comfortable and preview their readiness for the ACT. This year, the district also administered the EXPLORE test to 8th and 9th graders.

“The use of the EXPLORE and PLAN are to inform instruction and to expose students to the college placement test, increasing confidence in each student and encouraging more students to take and pass the ACT,” wrote Director of Learning and Assessment Kimberly Amidzich in the report.

 Greendale’s composite ACT score was still higher than the state’s average. Wisconsin’s 2012 composite score on the ACT was 22.1, a full point ahead of the nationwide composite score of 21.1. Minnesota’s composite score was 22.8.

The state had 47,588 graduates who took the ACT at some time during their high school career. The class of 2012 was the state’s most diverse with 20.3 percent of students identifying themselves as being from a racial or ethnic minority group. Participation in ACT testing more than doubled among Hispanic students since 2008 and was up 47 percent among Black / African American students, due in part to district wide testing in Milwaukee Public Schools that began in 2010.

“Results on the ACT show strong statewide achievement and that vast majority of students are taking a college preparatory curriculum,” State Superintendent Tony Evers said in a statement. “Businesses have told us and research bears out that college ready and career ready both require rigorous high school study. These ACT results also show us that we have work to do to make sure every graduate has the college and career readiness skills they will need for success in the workforce or further education.”