ACT Profile Report - State Graduating Class 2012 Utah *070079110* ACT, INC. -- CONFIDENTIAL ACT PROFILE REPORT - State PAGE 1 Graduating Class 2012 Code 459999 Utah Total Students in Report: 32,835 Table of Contents Section I: Executive Summary Page 5 Percent of Your Students Ready for College-Level Coursework Five Year Trends—Percent of Students Meeting College Readiness Benchmarks Five Year Trends—Average ACT Scores Five Year Trends—Average ACT Scores by Level of Preparation Five Year Trends—Percent and Average Composite Score by Race/Ethnicity Percent of Students in College Readiness Standards Score Ranges Section II: Academic Achievement Page 11 ACT Score Distributions, Cumulative Percentages, Averages, and Quartile Values Average ACT Composite Scores for Race/Ethnicity by Level of Preparation Average ACT Scores by Race/Ethnicity Percent of Students in College Readiness Standards Score Ranges Average ACT Scores by Gender Percent of Students Meeting College Readiness Benchmark Scores by Gender College Readiness Benchmark Percent and Average ACT Scores by Overall High School Curriculum College Readiness Benchmark Percent and Average ACT Scores by Content-Specific Curriculum Section III: College Readiness & Impact of Course Rigor Page 17 Percent of Students Meeting ACT College Readiness Benchmark Scores by Race/Ethnicity Average ACT Scores and Average ACT Score Changes by Common Course Patterns College Readiness Percents by Common Course Patterns Section IV: Career and Educational Aspirations Page 25 Distribution of Planned Educational Majors for All Students by College Plans Average ACT Composite Scores for Racial/Ethnic Groups by Post-Secondary Educational Aspirations Students' Score Report Preferences at Time of Testing Section V: Optional Writing Test Results Page 29 Average ACT English and Writing Scores by Race/Ethnicity and Gender for students who took ACT Writing ACT PROFILE REPORT - State PAGE 2 Graduating Class 2012 Code 459999 Utah Total Students in Report: 32,835 This report provides information about the performance of your 2012 graduating seniors who took the ACT as sophomores, juniors, or seniors; and self-reported at the time of testing that they were scheduled to graduate in 2012 and tested under standard time conditions. This report focuses on: Performance - student test performance in the context of college readiness Access - number of your graduates exposed to college entrance testing and the percent of race/ethnicity participation Course Selection - percent of students pursuing a core curriculum Course Rigor - impact of rigorous coursework on achievement College Readiness - percent of students meeting ACT College Readiness Benchmark Scores in each content area Awareness - extent to which student aspirations match performance Articulation - colleges and universities to which your students send test results Each year, test data for a school, district, and the state 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, or the state. Furthermore, 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 PROFILE REPORT - State PAGE 3 Graduating Class 2012 Code 459999 Utah Total Students in Report: 32,835 The 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 information Student Profile Section Career Interest Inventory The ACT: Every 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. Connecting College Readiness Standards to the Classroom interpretive guides can be found at www.act.org/standard/infoserv.html. 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: College Course/Course Area ACT Test Benchmark Score English Composition English 18 Algebra Mathematics 22 Social Sciences Reading 21 Biology Science 24 For more information, go to www.act.org ACT PROFILE REPORT - State PAGE 4 Graduating Class 2012 Code 459999 Utah Total Students in Report: 32,835 How to Improve Scores and Increase College Readiness 23% of your students met all four ACT College Readiness Benchmark Scores (Table 1.1). To improve students' scores and increase the percentage of students identified as college ready, ACT suggests: PROVIDING ACCESS FOR ALL STUDENTS TO TAKE THE ACT: 32,835 of your students are included in this report (the 'cohort'). Increasing access insures that more students have the opportunity to consider college and allows the reader to use this report to evaluate how well courses and instructional programs are preparing students for college and work. MAKING CORE CURRICULUM A PRIORITY: Emphasize the need for all students to develop college and work ready skills, regardless of postsecondary aspirations. 66% of the students in the cohort reported taking courses that would be considered 'Core or More' (Table 1.4). MAKING SURE STUDENTS ARE TAKING THE RIGHT KINDS OF COURSES: Table 3.2 reports 7% of the cohort took less than three years of math courses. Of these students, 5% were college ready. 19% of the cohort reported taking a course sequence of Algebra I, Algebra II, and Geometry. 10% of these students were college ready. In comparison, 53% of the students who took 3 or more years of math beyond Algebra I, Algebra II, and Geometry were college ready. Getting more students ready for Algebra prior to 9th grade will increase the chances that students will be prepared for and take advanced-level math courses. Similarly, Table 3.2 reports 20% of the cohort took less than three years of natural science courses. 15% of these students were college ready. In comparison, 33% of students who took at least three years of science coursework were college ready. EVALUATING RIGOR OF COURSES: Table 2.6 reports the percentage of students falling in each of the ACT College Readiness Standards score ranges. For example, approximately 51% of the cohort fall into the lowest three Mathematics score ranges. To increase these students' achievement, identify the standards they should focus on next by accessing ACT's College Readiness Standards at www.act.org/standard. 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. For 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 303-337-3273. #1406 ACT PROFILE REPORT - State: SECTION I, EXECUTIVE SUMMARY PAGE 5 Graduating Class 2012 Code 459999 Utah Total Students in Report: 32,835 Section I Executive Summary Tables within this section have been changed to reflect the updated United States Department of Education race/ethnicity reporting requirements. The race/ethnicity categories shown are the derived Federal reporting categories. Not all values convert from old race/ethnicity categories into new race/ethnicity categories. Therefore, trend data may not be present where direct conversions are not available. ACT PROFILE REPORT - State: SECTION I, EXECUTIVE SUMMARY PAGE 6 Graduating Class 2012 Code 459999 Utah Total Students in Report: 32,835 Figure 1.1. Percent of Your Students Ready for College-Level Coursework 100 State 90 National 80 70 60 50 40 67 64 30 54 52 46 20 40 29 31 23 25 10 0 College English Composition College Algebra College Social Science College Biology Students Meeting All 4 ACT Benchmark Scores ACT English ACT Math ACT Reading ACT Science Benchmark Score=18 Benchmark Score=22 Benchmark Score=21 Benchmark Score=24 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 course. ACT PROFILE REPORT - State: SECTION I, EXECUTIVE SUMMARY PAGE 7 Graduating Class 2012 Code 459999 Utah Total Students in Report: 32,835 Table 1.1. Five Year Trends—Percent of Students Meeting College Readiness Benchmarks Number of Students Percent Meeting Benchmarks Tested English Mathematics Reading Science Meeting All Four Year State National State National State National State National State National State National 2008 22,598 1,421,941 75 68 44 43 60 53 32 28 25 22 2009 23,229 1,480,469 73 67 44 42 62 53 32 28 25 23 2010 24,824 1,568,835 74 66 45 43 61 52 32 29 26 24 2011 25,161 1,623,112 73 66 47 45 60 52 33 30 27 25 2012 32,835 1,666,017 64 67 40 46 54 52 29 31 23 25 Table 1.2. Five Year Trends—Average ACT Scores Number of Students Average ACT Scores Tested English Mathematics Reading Science Composite Year State National State National State National State National State National State National 2008 22,598 1,421,941 21.4 20.6 21.1 21.0 22.5 21.4 21.6 20.8 21.8 21.1 2009 23,229 1,480,469 21.4 20.6 21.1 21.0 22.6 21.4 21.6 20.9 21.8 21.1 2010 24,824 1,568,835 21.4 20.5 21.1 21.0 22.5 21.3 21.7 20.9 21.8 21.0 2011 25,161 1,623,112 21.4 20.6 21.2 21.1 22.3 21.3 21.7 20.9 21.8 21.1 2012 32,835 1,666,017 20.0 20.5 20.3 21.1 21.3 21.3 20.8 20.9 20.7 21.1 Table 1.3. Five Year Trends—Average ACT Scores Nationwide Number of Students Average ACT Scores Year Tested English Mathematics Reading Science Composite 2008 1,421,941 20.6 21.0 21.4 20.8 21.1 2009 1,480,469 20.6 21.0 21.4 20.9 21.1 2010 1,568,835 20.5 21.0 21.3 20.9 21.0 2011 1,623,112 20.6 21.1 21.3 20.9 21.1 2012 1,666,017 20.5 21.1 21.3 20.9 21.1 ACT PROFILE REPORT - State: SECTION I, EXECUTIVE SUMMARY PAGE 8 Graduating Class 2012 Code 459999 Utah Total Students in Report: 32,835 Table 1.4. Five Year Trends—Average ACT Scores by Level of Preparation Average ACT Scores Number of Students Tested Percent2 English Mathematics Reading Science Composite Core Less Core or Less than or than Core or Less than Core or Less than Core or Less than Core or Less than Core or Less than Year More1 Core More Core More Core More Core More Core More Core More Core 2008 13,612 7,579 60 34 22.1 20.2 21.8 20.0 23.1 21.5 22.2 20.6 22.4 20.7 2009 16,390 6,586 71 28 22.1 19.8 21.8 19.6 23.2 21.2 22.2 20.2 22.4 20.3 2010 17,794 6,768 72 27 22.2 19.4 21.8 19.3 23.2 20.9 22.3 20.1 22.5 20.0 2011 19,125 5,741 76 23 22.1 19.2 21.9 19.3 22.9 20.5 22.3 20.1 22.4 19.9 2012 21,543 9,948 66 30 21.5 17.5 21.5 18.3 22.5 19.2 21.9 18.9 22.0 18.6 1"Core or More" results correspond to students taking four or more years of English AND three or more years each of math, social studies, and natural science. 2Percent of all students tested. Numbers will not add up to 100% due to student non-response. Table 1.5. Five Year Trends—Percent and Average Composite Score by Race/Ethnicity1 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 N % Avg N % Avg N % Avg N % Avg N % Avg All Students 22,598 100 21.8 23,229 100 21.8 24,824 100 21.8 25,161 100 21.8 32,835 100 20.7 Black/African American 179 1 17.9 228 1 18.1 264 1 18.1 265 1 18.2 352 1 16.9 American Indian/Alaska Native 195 1 17.9 241 1 17.9 262 1 17.8 223 1 18.5 342 1 16.4 White 18,026 80 22.0 19,014 82 22.2 20,153 81 22.2 19,926 79 22.3 23,977 73 21.5 Hispanic/Latino 1,099 5 18.9 1,386 6 18.8 1,636 7 18.6 2,359 9 18.9 4,171 13 17.6 Asian 777 3 21.3 829 4 20.9 914 4 20.7 699 3 21.6 651 2 20.9 Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islander 0 0 . 0 0 . 0 0 . 241 1 18.0 392 1 17.2 Two or more races 398 2 22.1 449 2 21.7 566 2 22.0 568 2 21.9 972 3 20.6 Prefer not to respond/No response 1,924 9 22.0 1,082 5 21.9 1,029 4 21.0 880 3 21.6 1,978 6 19.7 1Refer to the section header on page 5 for a description of race/ethnicity changes.