District 196 students outscore state ACT average
Students in the Rosemount-Apple Valley-Eagan School District cleared the high ACT bar set last year by posting the same average composite score (24.0) in 2011, according to test date released Aug. 17.
The district’s average composite score has increased from 23.3 to 24.0 on the test’s scale of 1 to 36.
Often it is difficult to draw conclusions about the overall effectiveness of a district because not all students take the ACT, still District 196 has a history of a high percentage of students participating.
Approximately 83 percent of the 2011 graduating class (1,672 students) took the test. The state average is 77 percent. Typically the higher the percentage of students taking the test, the more difficult it is to maintain a top average score.
The district average is 1.1 points higher than the state average, which remained at 22.9.
Eagan High School had the highest composite score among District 196 schools (25).
Eastview was next with an average of 23.9. Rosemount and the School of Environmental Studies both averaged 23.7. Apple Valley’s average score was 23.1.
The Minnesota average is once again highest in the nation among states where more than half of all graduates took the test.
Among those 27 states, Iowa is second at 22.3 and Wisconsin third at 22.2, according to a district release.
The national ACT average composite score is 21.1, up 0.1 points from last year.
The ACT is the primary college entrance exam taken by students in the Midwest. Students on the West and East coasts are more likely to take the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT).
– Tad Johnson
