ACT High School Profile Report The Graduating Class of 2006 District of Columbia

ACT High School Profile ReportThe Graduating Class of 2006District of Columbia The Graduating Class of 2006District of ColumbiaSection I: Executive SummaryP. 5Section II: Academic AchievementP. 9Section III: College Readiness & the Impact of Course RigorP. 14Section IV: Career and Educational AspirationsP. 22Section V: Optional Writing Test ResultsP. 26ACT High School Profile Report ACT HIGH SCHOOL PROFILEPAGE 2HS Graduating Class of 2006Code 099999State Report District of ColumbiaTotal Students in Report: 1,077This report focuses on :Performance - student test performance in the context of college readinessAccess - number of your graduates exposed to college entrance testing and the percent of race/ethnicity participationCourse Selection - percent of students pursuing a core curriculumCourse Rigor - impact of rigorous coursework on achievementCollege Readiness - percent of students meeting ACT College Readiness Benchmark Scores in each content areaAwareness - extent to which student aspirations match performanceArticulation - college and universities to which your students send test resultsThis report provides information about the performance of your 2006 graduating seniors who took the ACT as sophomores, juniors, or seniors.Each year, the graduating class data for a school, district, state, and the nation represents a different cohort of students. ACT encourages educators to focus on trends (3, 5, 10 years), not year-to-year changes. Such changes can represent normal – even expected – fluctuations. On the other hand, trend lines offer more insight into what is happening in a school, district, state, or the nation.Further, ACT encourages educators to measure student performance in the context of college readiness measures. The focus should be on the number and percentage of students meeting or exceeding ACT’s College Readiness Benchmark Scores, a measure that is much more meaningful and understandable than an average composite score for a group of students. ACT HIGH SCHOOL PROFILEPAGE 3HS Graduating Class of 2006Code 099999State Report District of ColumbiaTotal Students in Report: 1,077The ACT is a curriculum-based measure of college readiness. ACT components include:Tests of academic achievement in English, math, reading, science, and writing (optional)High school grade and course informationStudent Profile SectionCareer Interest InventoryThe ACT: A Test Like No OtherCollege Course/Course AreaACT TestBenchmark ScoreEnglish CompositionEnglish18AlgebraMathematics22Social SciencesReading21BiologyScience24For more information, go to www.act.orgEvery few years, ACT conducts the ACT National Curriculum Survey to ensure its curriculum-based assessment tools accurately measure the skills high school teachers teach and instructors of entry-level college courses expect. The ACT is the only college readiness test designed to reflect the results of such a survey.ACT’s College Readiness Standards are sets of statements intended to help students, parents and educators understand the meaning of test scores. The standards relate test scores to the types of skills needed for success in high school and beyond. They serve as a direct link between what students have learned and what they are ready to do next. The ACT is the only college readiness test for which scores can be tied directly to standards.Only the ACT reports College Readiness Benchmark Scores – A benchmark score is the minimum score needed on an ACT subject-area test to indicate a 50% chance of obtaining a B or higher or about a 75% chance of obtaining a C or higher in the corresponding credit-bearing college courses, which include English Composition, Algebra, Social Science and Biology. These scores were empirically derived based on the actual performance of students in college. The College Readiness Benchmark Scores are: ACT HIGH SCHOOL PROFILEPAGE 4HS Graduating Class of 2006Code 099999State Report District of ColumbiaTotal Students in Report: 1,077How to Improve Scores and Increase College ReadinessFor more information on interpreting data in this report, or to learn how ACT can help your students improve their readiness for college and the workplace, contact your regional office at 518-869-7378.PLAN GUIDANCE ACTIVITIES BASED ON STUDENTS' CAREER AND COLLEGE ASPIRATIONS. Data in Tables 4.1 and 4.2 enable the reader to determine if aspirations are consistent with academic performance and whether among students with similar aspirations, academic performance is consistent across racial/ethnic groups.EVALUATING RIGOR OF COURSES. Table 2.4 reports the percentage of students falling in each of the ACT College Readiness Standards score ranges. For example, approximately 67% of the cohort fall into the lowest three Mathematics score ranges. To inc