The Wyoming Department of Education has released the results of statewide high school assessments. The ACT test is given to 11th graders, and the ACT Aspire test given to 9th and 10th graders, are used to help predict how well students are prepared for life after high school, whether that's in college or pursuing a career.
Kari Eakins, the Wyoming Department of Education’s communications director, said the 2017 results show similar performance to prior years.
“Any increases or decreases we saw were well within the standard deviation, so no statistically significant changes one way or the other,” Eakins said.
Superintendent Jillian Balow said when it comes to determining how Wyoming did compared to other states it’s hard to say. All Wyoming students take the ACT exam. In some states, only college bound students take the test, which can elevate scores.
“To truly compare apples to apples when we look nationally, we have to look at the states that use the ACT in the way that we do.” Balow said it’s important to make sure, “that we are comparing to states where all students are given the ACT and not just some of them.”
For public school students, the statewide average on the ACT was 19.7 out of a possible 36 points. For assured admission into the University of Wyoming, a student needs to score a 21. And students who score as low as 17 can still be admitted to UW through Synergy, a program that provides additional academic support.
Fremont District 14 and 21 had the lowest average scores in the 15 point range. Balow said the results of these tests will be used to identify schools that need additional support. That specific analysis has yet to be released but should be out in the coming weeks.
