The Springfield Public School District has released ACT results for its 2014 graduating class. In a news release, the district says its seniors last school year exceeded state and national averages on the ACT exam. Springfield's average composite score was 22.4 compared with Missouri's average of 21,8 and a national average of 21.0.
The ACT consists of curriculum-based tests in English, math, reading and science designed to measure skills needed to succeed in first-year college coursework.
SPS students scored highest in reading with an average composite score of 23.1. The district's average composite slightly increased from 22.2 in 2013. Three high schools--Central, Kickapoo and Parkview--increased their average ACT composite scores between 2013 and 2014.
Over the past five years, SPS' composite score has remained fairly steady, fluctuating between 22.9 and 22.2.
According to the news release, of 1,597 students who graduated from SPS in 2014, 999 took the ACT exam during their high school years, which represents 62.6 percent of the 2014 graduating class. That’s a decline from 2013 when 1,078 students, or 65.1 percent, took the ACT.
The district says, beginning with the 2014-2015 school year, the number of students who take the ACT will significantly increase. “On Jan. 14, 2014, the State Board of Education approved the administration of the ACT to all grade 11 students in Missouri public schools, with the exception of students who are eligible for the Missouri Assessment Program-Alternate (MAP-A). The test will be administered at no cost to participating students,” according to the release.
