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Nebraska ACT scores rise to 22.1 average

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By The Associated Press

Wednesday, Aug 15, 2007 - 12:03:34 am CDT

Nebraska’s 2007 graduating seniors scored slightly higher on the ACT college entrance exam than the 2006 graduates who took the test.

The state’s average score was 22.1, up two-tenths of a percentage point from 21.9 last year and three-tenths of a point from 21.8 in 2005.

The national average this year was 21.2, up a tenth of a percentage point from last year’s 21.1 and three-tenths of a point higher than 2005. The highest ACT score possible is 36.

Story Photo
(photos.com)
ACT scores for LPS

The average ACT score of 2007 Lincoln Public Schools graduates was 22.9.

That compares to the state average of 22.1 and the national average of 21.2.

The average LPS score went down slightly from 2006 graduates, whose average was 23. That was an all-time high.

A perfect score for the college entrance exam is 36.

This year, 1,371 LPS graduates took the ACT, compared to 1,299 last year.

Average scores for 2006 and 2007 graduates of individual high schools are:

Lincoln High

2006: 22.6

2007: 22

East High

2006: 24.4

2007: 24.6

Northeast High

2006: 21.6

2007: 22

Southeast High

2006: 23.4

2007: 23.3

Southwest High

2006: 23.7

2007: 23.3

North Star High

2006: 20.8

2007: 21.1

Nebraska’s average of 22.1 was tied with California for 13th-highest in the nation.

Massachusetts had the highest score for 2007, 23.5, but only 15 percent of its eligible students took the ACT.

Nearly 77 percent of Nebraska’s 2007 graduating seniors took the test, or 16,137 students. Nationally, 42 percent took the test.

The reports were based on scores from 2007 graduating seniors who took the ACT as sophomores, juniors or seniors.

The composite scores come from scores in the four subject areas tested.

In English, the Nebraska students scored 21.8 for 2007, compared with 20.7 nationally; in math, Nebraskans scored 21.8 versus 21 nationally; in reading, 22.4 versus 21.5 nationally; and in science, 21.9 versus 21 nationally.

In the optional writing test, the 2,352 Nebraska students who took it scored 24.9 in the English test, versus 22.3 nationally; and 7.8 in the essay, versus 7.6 nationally. The combined English/writing score for Nebraskans was 23.9, compared with 21.8 nationally.

Over a five-year period, the Nebraska composite scores have risen four-tenths of a percentage point - from 21.7 in 2003 to 22.1 this year - while the national composite averages also have risen four-tenths of a point - from 20.8 in 2003 to 21.2 this year.

Broken down by race and ethnicity, the average Nebraska composite scores varied widely in 2007:

African-American/blacks, 17.9, up two-tenths of a percentage point from 17.7 last year; American Indian/Alaskan native, 19.1, up three-tenths of a point from 18.8 last year; Hispanic, 19.1, compared with 19 last year; Asian-American/Pacific islander, 22.7, up eight-tenths of a point from 21.9 last year; and white, 22.4, versus 22.3 last year.

The state remained ahead of the nation in the number of students ready for college-level courses, as indicated by the tests.

Two examples:

- Seventy-seven percent of Nebraska students who took the ACT were judged to be ready for college English composition, versus 69 percent of students nationwide.

- And 27 percent of Nebraska students who took the tests met all four ACT benchmark scores - in English, math, reading and science - versus 23 percent nationwide.

When broken down by race and ethnicity, the figures varied dramatically for Nebraska students who met all four ACT benchmark scores:

- 29 percent of white students;

- 31 percent of Asian-American/Pacific Islander;

- 11 percent of Hispanic students;

- 11 percent of American Indian/Alaskan native;

- and 5 percent of African-American/black students.


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CS wrote on August 15, 2007 7:14 am:
" Is that a WHOLE 22.1? Its great that its going up, but in 1990 I and several NE HS students took the ACT as 7th graders through through a gifted program sponsored by Duke and were able to score that, up to almost perfect scores. Basically, don't put all your faith in a test to show intelligence- especially the ACT. Are you listening, LPS, Dept. of Ed, and Bush? "
former teacher wrote on August 15, 2007 8:36 am:
" I hope that everyone I have ever heard making comments about the deplorable state of the American educational system, or the incredibly poor schools in Lincoln/Nebraska/USA, or what awful students teenagers are theses days... I hope they take a look at these stats and take the time to think back, I mean really objectively recall, what it was like whan they were kids. 77% of our students took this test. SEVENTY SEVEN PERCENT! And we are still tied for 13th place? I think that is downright amazing. I would love to see how the scores of the top 1/6 of those students who took the test compare with the 15% of Massachusettes students who took the test. Remember too that the vast majority of Nebraska students are PUBLIC SCHOOL STUDENTS. They aren't going to private or prep schools, they don't have tutors and special enrichment courses. Nebraska students work hard, their families work hard, and their TEACHERS work hard. I have to say I am pretty damn proud to have been associated with the Nebraska public school system, and incredibly grateful to have my children attend. "
as wrote on August 15, 2007 8:38 am:
" May I ask why we are bragging about a rise in a score that still seems ridiculously low? "
T-bone wrote on August 15, 2007 8:41 am:
" Since the students voluntarily choose whether or not they want to take the ACT test, there is NOT a representative sample of students from LPS or from any high school. Therefore, one should not infer the quality of LPS or any particular school by using the "average ACT score." "
aj wrote on August 15, 2007 9:41 am:
" The test has been reformulated since you took it so you can't compare today's scores with what you earned in '90. "
Fred Register wrote on August 15, 2007 10:03 am:
" Good lord obviously our schools didn't do a good job of teaching basic statistics even in "gifted" programs. That "whole 22.1" is a MEAN of 77% of the students. I'm pretty sure some cherry-picked and rote-drilled tiny subset could get near perfect scores this year too like you did CS - but that wouldn't reflect much at all about the general population would it? The mean of 22.1 does. Average students are....well, average. Further stats ignorance comes from t-bone, who at least has a point that this is a self-selected sample. However since the ACT is meant to test college-bound kids and since 77% of all students is a greater number than those bound for college, it most certainly is representative (and indeed if anything slightly understated) of that subset. How many of the 23% are college bound do you think? A couple of percent tops I'd warrant. How low would their scores have to be to dramatically reduce the scores of 77% of the possible universe? When you can get MOEs in the 3% range by surveying less than 1/100,000th of a population, any time your sample size is 77% of the universe you can't be all that far off a true estimate of the actual mean. "
Mike Honcho wrote on August 15, 2007 10:06 am:
" I guess all we have visiting the boards are geniuses, because I only scored a 26, which by the standards of the some of the previous commenters, might qualify me to mop floors. I guess I should consider myself fortunate that I am able to tie my shoes, let alone graduate from UNL with a 3.5 GPA. I don't think 22 is such a bad average, considering the turnout Nebraska sees compared to other states. Massachusetts got a whole 23.5...which isn't bad until you consider the fact that only 15% of their students took the test...I wonder where their scores would be if they had the 77% turnout Nebraska has. To be ahead of the national average on both overall score and student turnout, I'd say that is most definitely a compliment to the Nebraska educational system...but I guess there will always be those who get their joy from ripping on Nebraska. "
Tell us more, educators wrote on August 15, 2007 10:18 am:
" The average ACT score tells me very little until every student on the road to graduation takes this test. Further clouding the issue is the fact that students in some parts of the country take the SAT in lieu of the ACT. I would like to see a nationwide test that every college can use for admissions. While we are at it, let's not dumb down the admissions tests every ten years or so. I took the ACT in 1969 and I would love to see how today's students would score on the test I took. "
jack wrote on August 15, 2007 10:20 am:
" Looks like the smaller class schools bailed out the state on these scores. It seems not long ago lincoln was in trouble for test preparation. "
ACT wrote on August 15, 2007 11:14 am:
" I had a 'lower' ACT score that others , I graduate from college with honors and was on the deans list, while several others that I knew scored incredibly high on the ACT and got schlorships and several of them dropped out of school and failed out. Scores on ACT does not score your workmanship or abilty to suceeed in school, only how well you can take tests which is sad "
CS wrote on August 15, 2007 11:21 am:
" We weren't drilled or cherry picked. We were chosen based on State standardized test scores and took the test the same day that HS students took it, in the same locations. The test was also harder when I took it, and calculators weren't allowed. I never said I scored near perfect, but there were others that did ( I got a 21, but did better when I took it again for school). My point was that as a determinant 22.1 isn't that great if 7th graders preparing on their own can score at or above that. I also went to a HS less than 300 7-12 so there was no 'gifted' program to speak of. We all had to take the same work or study on our own. "
Bad Comparisons wrote on August 15, 2007 12:09 pm:
" Only 15% of students in Massachusetts took the ACT becuase the majority there would likely take the SAT. I'm baffled by the comments made by 'former teacher' - why would you take the top 15% of Nebraska's scores and compare to the Massachusetts score? That would only compare the best in Nebraska to the entire Massachusetts population. It's good to see Nebraska's students are scoring above average, but let's see the distribution of scores - both in Nebraska and nationally. The mean score doesn't tell much of the story without seeing the whole data set. "
Another POV wrote on August 15, 2007 4:08 pm:
" Even a high ACT score doesn't guarantee success in college. "
mark wrote on August 15, 2007 4:54 pm:
" I'm not sure that I understand "smaller class schools bailed out the state" comment, if LPS's composite was 22.9 compared to statewide 22.1?? "
BM wrote on August 15, 2007 10:45 pm:
" As a graduating senior from LPS, I would have cried if I got below a 25. CS, I took the test for Duke back in 7th grade as well and that provides no basis for how a student will do in high school. The GIFTED 7th graders that the Duke Talent Identification Program picked for the test do not accurately represent 7th graders as a whole...let alone provide a basis for comparison against high schoolers. You can say it's about the teachers, blah blah blah, but really it's all about who's a better test taker. Those scores can vary 2-6 points between two tests. My ACT was a 31 but my SAT (equivalent) would have been a 29. It's all about being a good test taker...standardized tests are nothing more than a way to blow sunshine up someone's rear end for raising the bar from mediocre up to less mediocre. "
JPB wrote on August 15, 2007 11:02 pm:
" Standardized tests are, have been, and always will be culturally and economically biased. The practice tests and test prep sessions essentially pave the way for a student to have a higher score on the actual test. Further, the ACT and SAT are predominantly used as predictors for success in higher education and for admission to colleges and universities. Congrats on the high scores; it should be no surprise considering education is valued more in the Midwest in comparison to other regions. "
ACT wrote on August 15, 2007 11:21 pm:
" i got a 32 on the ACT - take that Mike Honcho! :) "
It's not 1969 anymore wrote on August 15, 2007 11:57 pm:
" High school in 2007 is immensely different from high school in 1969. Focus was different and college was practically another world. Now, I'm not saying one is better and the other worse, but today, students are expected to master extremely broad regions of information. Reading, Writing, and Arithmetic also include Business, Computer Skills, Psychology, Community, and even the basics are divided into many, many subgroups. I don't feel comparing one to the other is quite fair. Besides, how much do you remember from all your classes? "
Sleepy Drivers behind gasoline tankers? wrote on August 16, 2007 12:26 am:
" You wanna raise ACT Test scores? Confiscate the video and computer games. Give them back when the kid has at least a B average. Teachers can't make kids learn whos brains are being re-arranged by japanese video machine companies. "
H wrote on August 16, 2007 8:43 am:
" I took the same testing through Duke University in '90. But that wasn't the ACT test we took--it was the PSAT, based on the SAT. "
PSAT wrote on August 17, 2007 12:39 pm:
" High schoolers take the PSAT in 11th grade and that test is pretty much a joke. Without test prep classes, kids can do just fine on tests...believe it or not. Senior year, I did no homework whatsoever and still made national honor society and honor roll. it's all about test taking skills. seriously. "

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