Isle ACT scores
improving

Students taking the college
entrance exam continue to
outpace the national average

Hawaii's class of 2005 scored better on the college-entrance ACT exam than last year's high school graduates, keeping the state above a stagnant national average, according to results released today.

However, just 16 percent of Hawaii's public and private students took the test, down from 18 percent last year, while 40 percent nationwide took the test in both years. Difference in participation levels can affect scores.

"Hawaii's scores are up this year slightly and that's encouraging," said Ed Colby, spokesman for Iowa-City-based ACT. The state's figures had slipped a bit over the previous two years, but have exceeded the national average for five years in a row.

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The ACT Assessment is a curriculum-based achievement test in English, math, reading and science that measures preparation for college. The results are also combined into a composite score.

Students applying to college may take either the ACT or the SAT. The SAT is more popular in Hawaii. ACT does not break down scores of public vs. private school students.

"Hawaii students have consistently performed well on the ACT," said Schools Superintendent Pat Hamamoto. "These results reflect the combined scores of public and private school students, who all deserve our congratulations for a job well done."

Hawaii's Class of 2005 posted an average composite score of 21.9 on the ACT, up from 21.7 for the Class of 2004, out of a maximum of 36. That compares with 20.9 for the nation as a whole in both years.

By subject area, Hawaii students scored highest in math, at 22.7, then reading at 21.9, science at 21.6 and English at 21. All those figures were slightly above last year's.

Nationally, scores remained flat in every subject and slightly below Hawaii's. The biggest spread is in math, where the national average was 20.7, two points below Hawaii's 22.7.

Taken over several years, test scores don't show noticeable improvement nationally or locally. Hawaii's composite score is 21.9 this year compared with 21.7 in 2001 and 22 in 2002. The national number is now at 20.9 compared with 21 in 2001 and 20.8 in 2002.

"What we're not really seeing is much growth in test scores," Colby said. "From a national perspective, we just feel that students aren't getting the message early enough that they need to take as many challenging courses as they can."

The ACT recommends that students take four years of English and three or more years each of mathematics (starting with Algebra I), science, and social studies courses.

Composite scores this year ranged from a low of 18 in Washington. D.C. to a high of 22.8 in Connecticut and Massachusetts, but ACT officials advise against making state-to-state comparisons because students taking the test are self-selected and the percentage taking the test varies widely. In Hawaii, 2,109 students in the Class of 2005 took the test.