Dodge City ACT scores trail behind state average

According to America's 2009 ACT scores, less than a quarter — or 23 percent — of the country's high school students are prepared for college.
    That figure came as no surprise to the nation's educators.
    The good news is that Dodge City is doing about as well than the rest of the country. In fact, for the second year in a row, the high school and the nation shared a composite ACT score of 21.1 out of a possible 36.
    The bad news is that Kansas as a whole is beating the rest of the country, and Dodge City is trailing behind — except for USD 443's science scores, which are higher than the national average, and almost neck and neck with the state's.
    While 26 percent of Kansas' 2009 high school graduates earned benchmark scores in all four of the ACT subject areas tested, only 22 percent of USD 443's graduates did the same. Those percentages are the figures that really count, according to the ACT, which tests English, math, science and reading comprehension.

The benchmark
     ACT studies show that students scoring below the benchmark in a given area are not academically prepared to earn a grade of C or better in a  first-year college course requiring those skills.   
    But that 22 percent figure can be misleading. It doesn't mean that Dodge's students aren't meeting the ACT's benchmark in every subject. Far from it. It just means that, like the rest of the nation, fewer students are meeting that benchmark in all of them.
    In fact, the DCHS average exceeds the ACT benchmark for two of the four tested areas. The Demons' average English and reading scores of 20.4 and 21.1, respectively, exceed the ACT benchmarks of 18 and 21. Based on their ACT scores, 65 percent of last year's DCHS graduates are ready for college English, and 55 percent are ready for social sciences.
    And while Dodge's 65 percent is significantly lower than the state's ACT English percentage of 74 percent, it compares favorably with the national average of 67 percent, given USD 443's high ESL enrollment. In fact, Dodge's average English and reading scores went up in 2009, while the statewide averages in each went down.

A mixed blessing?              
 ACT scores are a mixed blessing, and not all educators rely upon them. Some colleges don't view ACT scores as the most reliable way to predict academic success and give more weight to other factors. And several well-regarded schools have dispensed with ACT and SAT requirements entirely.
    But for most high school students, parents, educators and policy makers, the ACT remains a fact of life. As college admissions grow increasingly selective, it's clear that the test's influence won't fade anytime soon.
    In fact, the 2009 ACT tested more kids than ever, setting an all-time record of 1.5 million.

Reach Claire O'Brien at (620) 408-9931 or e-mail her at claire.obrien@dodgeglobe.com.