CMS scores on ACT show slight gains in reading and English
District, state fall short of college benchmarks on test
Scores on the ACT test, a measure of college readiness, showed slight
gains in reading and English for Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools, according
to results released Aug. 26. Reading scores increased by four-tenths of
a percentage point and English scores showed gains of two-tenths of a
percentage point.
District scores on the content-based multiple choice test were slightly
higher than North Carolina’s state scores in reading, the same as the state in
English and lower in math and science. The ACT assesses college readiness
in these four subjects by comparing individual scores to specific college
benchmarks identified as predictive of first-year college performance.
Neither the state’s overall scores nor those of CMS reached the ACT
college benchmarks – an issue of concern to district leadership.
“We want our students to be college- and career-ready when they
graduate,” said Superintendent Ann Clark. “We will continue to look closely
at these results to determine where we can strengthen our students’ learning
and performance so they are better prepared for life after high school.”
In all, 8,317 students from the class of 2015 took the ACT assessment.
Some students took it as juniors; others as sophomores or seniors. Beginning
in 2011, the State Board of Education included the ACT in the North Carolina
accountability model. Since then, all juniors have taken the ACT.
Average (mean) scores for CMS were 17.6 in English, 19.3 in math, 19.3
in reading and 18.5 in science. The district’s composite English scores have
increased by 0.6 points since 2013. For the same period, science scores
remained flat and math scores declined 0.3 points.
For the state, average scores on the 2015 test were 17.6 in English, 19.5
in math, 19.2 in reading and 19 in science.
Individual schools in CMS met or exceeded the college benchmarks in
the four subjects, however. Schools with the highest composite scores (the
average of scores in all four subject areas) included Providence High (24.5),
Cato Middle College (23.6), Ardrey Kell High (23.1), Myers Park High (22.6)
and William Amos Hough High
(21.6).
When examined by
ethnicity, the CMS and state
scores reflect the national
trend. White and Asian
students have consistently
earned the highest scores on
the ACT since 2006, while
African-American and Hispanic
students have lower scores.
“We want all of our
students to succeed,” said Clark. “These results indicate that we have work to
do in better preparing many of our students for college by making sure they
take in high school what is nationally recommended: four years of English
and three years each of science, math and social studies.”
The ACT College Admissions Assessment is given to all
students in the 11th grade and the ACT WorkKeys assessment is
administered to seniors who are Career and Technical Education
(CTE) concentrators. Beginning in 2012-13, The ACT and the ACT
WorkKeys became part of North Carolina’s school accountability
program.
In order to support student success on The ACT, North Carolina
administers the ACT Explore assessment at 8th grade and the ACT
Plan assessment at 10th grade. ACT Explore and ACT Plan are
diagnostic assessments that are predictors to future performance
on The ACT. They also provide information to help parents,
teachers, and students determine future goals.
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Parent Teacher Magazine • September/October 2015 • 11