Central High's ACT scores drop along with Alabama averages
As expected, Central High School's 2015 ACT scores followed Alabama's statewide trend by dropping in every category as compared to 2014.
That's because, as part of the state's accountability measure for public schools, this was the first year Alabama mandated all 11th-graders take the ACT, unless they are omitted because of their Individual Education Plan. So while 100 percent of Alabama's 2015 public high school graduates took the ACT, only 58 percent of them took that college entrance exam in Georgia, where the SAT is preferred.
Central had a five-year high of 375 students take the ACT in 2015, compared to 189 in 2014. Those statistics offer an excuse for the decrease in Central's five-year low results, but Phenix City Public Schools second-year superintendent Randy Wilkes won't use it. He contends the scores simply aren't good enough as Central continues to lag behind the state and national averages in all ACT categories.
"This is not a high school problem but rather a system opportunity," Wilkes said in a news release Thursday. "Phenix City Schools seeks continuous improvement and expects to better itself in every educational facet. Our desire is to establish a world-class educational system. To trail the state's average is not acceptable."
Poverty is another factor Wilkes won't use. He noted Phenix City has a poverty rate of 70 percent and the state's fourth-largest public housing authority, but "we are responsible for student achievement. We are working hard to make a change in our schools and the way we teach our children. Standards are new, curriculum is new, testing is new. We will take these results, analyze them, and use them as an opportunity to continue learning and improving."
Thursday's release of Central's scores came a day after Columbus-based credit card and payment processor TSYS announced its $25,000 donation to name the coding lab after the company in the $1.7 million Dyer Family STEM Center, scheduled to open in August 2016 at Phenix City Intermediate School. The Friends of Phenix City Schools is trying to raise $1.1 million to help pay for the center that will enhance science, technology, engineering and math education in the school system as well as the $3.1 million expansion facility at Central.
The superintendent said he also is working to increase support for the school system's staff with instructional coaches and a graduation coach. Wilkes wants to bring STEM curriculum to every grade level with attention to "hands-on and minds-on activities" and increase the rigor of the standards taught.
As part of the superintendent's i3 Initiative (standing for inquiry, innovation and impact), the school system spent $750,000 this year to equip each of the 1,500 students and 100 teachers at Phenix City Intermediate School (grades 6-7) and South Girard School (grade 8) with an iPad Air. The plan is to add grades 9-12 to the 1:1 electronic device program next school year.
The i3 Initiative promotes "inquiry-based instruction that focuses on effective questioning and higher-order thinking skills" while increasing student engagement, Wilkes said.
Last month, when the ACT released the 2015 results on the national and state levels, the Ledger-Enquirer also reported the composite scores for the local high schools in Georgia, but the local Alabama scores weren't available. The Georgia Department of Education provides the local information in its state, but the Alabama State Department of Education relies on the local school districts to release their scores.
The Ledger-Enquirer reported Russell County's ACT scores two weeks ago and Smiths Station's last week after the L-E sent Lee County superintendent Mac McCoy a request under the Alabama's Open Records Law. The results for Russell County and Smiths Station also showed decreases in every ACT category.
Thursday, in response to the Sept. 8 open records request from the L-E, Wilkes released Central's ACT scores.
Mark Rice, 706-576-6272. Follow him on Twitter@MarkRiceLE.
ACT COMPOSITE SCORES
School 2014 2015 +/-
Central 18.6 17.2 -1.4
Russell 17.8 17.3 -0.5
Smiths 19.9 18.5 -1.4
Alabama 20.6 19.1 -1.5
National 21.0 21.0 --
ACT ENGLISH SCORES
School 2014 2015 +/-
Central 18.1 16.2 -1.9
Russell 17.1 16.6 -0.5
Smiths 19.6 18.0 -1.6
Alabama 20.7 18.8 -1.9
Georgia 20.3 20.6 +0.3
National 20.3 20.4 +0.1
ACT MATH SCORES
School 2014 2015 +/-
Central 17.9 17.0 -0.9
Russell 17.5 16.8 -0.7
Smiths 19.0 18.1 -0.9
Alabama 19.5 18.4 -1.1
Georgia 20.5 20.5 --
National 20.9 20.8 -0.1
ACT READING SCORES
School 2014 2015 +/-
Central 19.5 17.6 -1.9
Russell 18.3 17.9 -0.4
Smiths 20.5 18.9 -1.6
Alabama 21.3 19.7 -1.6
Georgia 21.4 21.6 +0.2
National 21.3 21.4 +0.1
ACT SCIENCE SCORES
School 2014 2015 +/-
Central 18.5 17.5 -1.0
Russell 17.7 17.4 -0.3
Smiths 20.1 18.5 -1.6
Alabama 20.4 19.1 -1.3
Georgia 20.7 20.9 +0.2
National 20.8 20.9 +0.1
This story was originally published September 17, 2015 at 3:34 PM with the headline "Central High's ACT scores drop along with Alabama averages ."