Mixed results among area schools for ACT scores

Students at Jefferson and Commerce high schools outperformed their peers in Georgia on the 2010 ACT and have improved their composite scores over the past five years.


At both schools, the composite ACT score was 21.5 this year — compared to 20.7 for the state.

Fifty-two students at Jefferson High School took the ACT in 2010, compared to 27 in 2006.

Nineteen students at Commerce High School completed the test this year — up from 11 in 2006.

The ACT composite scores from students in the Jackson County School System, however, have mostly lagged behind their peers in Georgia for the past five years. The exceptions came in 2008 and 2009 when students at Jackson Comprehensive High School did better than statewide results.

In 2010, the composite score at JCCHS was 19.7, while it was 18.7 at EJCHS.

Statewide, 44 percent of graduating seniors took the ACT with an average composite score of 20.7 compared to 20.6 last year.

The ACT includes exams in English, Math, reading and science that projects how well a high school student might do in their first year of college coursework. The test also includes an overall composite score of the section tests.

For most local schools, the number of students taking the ACT — a national college entrance exam — has been slowly growing in recent years.

In 2006, 76 students in Jackson County’s three school systems took the curriculum-based achievement test that measures a student’s readiness and preparation for college-level courses. This year, 125 students in the county took the test.

While the ACT may be slowly gaining popularity, another college entrance exam — the SAT — remains the preferred choice among students.

According to the latest figures available, 226 students in Jackson County took the SAT in 2009.

Sixty-five students at JCCHS took the SAT in 2009, 47 at EJCHS, 48 at CHS and 66 at JHS, according to the Georgia Department of Education.

Rise Hawley, assistant superintendent for teaching and learning for the Jackson County School System, said district officials typically look at more detailed data from other tests — such as End of Course Tests (EOCT) and the Georgia High School Graduation Test (GHSGT) — to determine how well their students are mastering the state’s curriculum.

Those tests, along with the PSAT — a prep test for the SAT — provide more data on individual students’ performance than the ACT, Hawley said.