Ames High School Class of 2011 Improves on ACT

The average graduating class normally scores a point or two higher on the ACT when compared to other test takers in the state.

Ames High School Associate Principal Mike Avise said, “That we kind of expect.”

But 2011 seniors scored significantly than the class of 2010 and the state on the college entrance exams, according to numbers released by the Ames Community School District Thursday.

The Ames High School graduating class of 2011 scored more than half a point higher in all ACT categories. The average composite score was 25.7 in 2011 and 25.0 in 2010. Iowa's average 2011 composite score was 22.3.

On a scale where 36 is the highest possible score, an increase of one-half point or greater is considered a marked improvement, Avise said.

Typically a school might move one- or two-tenths of a point up or down, he said.

“A jump of seven-tenths would not be routine,” Avise said. “We should be more excited than we are.”

In 2010, about 66 percent of the graduating class took the test. In 2011, 76.8 percent of the class took the test and the average scores were still higher.

“That's a nice jump and a nice jump in the percent of students who took it,” Avise said. “When you put the two together it makes it even more impressive.”

The test is typically administered at a local community college or here at Iowa State.

Ames High School teachers don't talk much about the test, but the school does offer a four-day evening prep course and free test preparation materials are available to anyone online, Avise said.

Most students going to a four year college know they need to take the test, he said.

The school offers solid rigorous courses which prepares students for any assessment including the ACT, Avise said.

Ann Shuey, former Athletic Booster Club president, said she's not surprised the school did better than the state as a whole and said she was still trying to figure out what the newest increase means.

“If the ACT scores are rising I think it means that our kids are more prepared for college. … Something good is happening at Ames High.”

Shuey said teachers at the school do a good job, work hard and really care about their students.

Shuey's daughter, an Ames high senior, plans to take the test for the first time this fall.

“I just hope the next group is able to maintain or improve. Every class is different,” Shuey said.