Seniors score highest on ACT; new PARRCC test this year

Source%3A+2013+Illinois+School+Report+Card+based+on++the+ACT+scores+from+the+graduating+class+of+2013+ACT+Assessment+or++PSAE+exam.%0A

Source: 2013 Illinois School Report Card based on the ACT scores from the graduating class of 2013 ACT Assessment or PSAE exam.

Kasey Carlson, News Editor

WY’s Class of 2015 has achieved something no class has before. The average ACT score of the current seniors was a 27.9 out of 36, compared to the previous year’s score of 27.5. The average score is the highest in WY’s history.
According to assistant principal Melvin Soto, 27.9 is only a preliminary score.

“It is expected to be a 28.0 or higher,” says Soto, explaining that once retakes of the standardized test are accounted for, averages tend to rise 0.1 or 0.2 points. Soto also shared that over the past five years, WY’s ACT score has jumped about 3.5 points. The rise in scores is also significant compared to the average Chicago and Illinoi s scores, which tend to stay stagnant.

ACT Comparison Table
Source: 2013 Illinois School Report Card based on the ACT scores from the graduating class of 2013 ACT Assessment or PSAE exam.

Some are wondering where we stand in citywide and statewide rankings with such a leap in scores. Soto explains that rankings tend to be two years behind and that WY does not know of the averages of other competitors like Walter Payton College Prep and Northside College Prep, so the rankings will not be clear until they are released in a couple of years.

ACT Demographic Table
Source: 2013 Illinois School Report Card based on the ACT scores from the graduating class of 2013 ACT Assessment or PSAE exam.

WY may be succeeding on the ACT, but Chicago is getting ready to take on an entirely new kind of standardized test.
Meet the PARCC, the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers. The test will replace the ACT in state funded spring testing. The state of Illinois has mandated it through legislation and it is supposed to be implemented beginning this year. However, it seems that there are a lot of questions being raised about the test due to a lack of information.

“There is a lot of uncertainty,” says Lynn Zalon, assistant principal and head of the Academic Center.
There are a few things that are clear about the PARCC. The test is taken on the computer. It will be taken for students who are in an English III or Algebra II class or the equivalent of the two.

It will also replace the ACT in terms of spring testing, meaning the state will no longer fund the ACT to be taken in schools. The ACT will now be taken on the personal time and dime of students. However, any junior or senior who qualifies by federal standards for free or reduced lunch has the availability of two ACT fee waivers per year. Students can see their counselors for more details.

More information on the PARCC should become available as testing grows near, scheduled to be some date in the window of March 9 to April 2.