Oxford Schools had some ups and downs in their ACT scores from last fall, according a presentation made by Assistant Superintendent of Curriculum & Instruction Ken Weaver at the Sept. Oxford Board of Education meeting.
Oxford saw an increase in English scores from 19.0 to 19.2 and an increase in reading scores from 20.1 to 20.2.
However, math scores decreased from 20.3 to 19.4 and science scores from 20.7 to 20.3. The composite score also dropped from 20.2 to 19.9.
As far as how Oxford stacked up against the state and county, Oxford was below the state in English by 0.2 and math by 0.1 and above the state in reading by 0.1 and science by 0.2. The composite scores were the same at 19.9. Oxford was also below Oakland County in all areas as well. The county’s average composite score was 20.7
The overall scores included students from Oxford High School, Oxford Virtual Academy, Oxford Bridges, Oxford Schools Early College and Crossroads.
‘Even though the overall scores dipped a little bit this year, for the past two to three years, they had been improving along the way,? Weaver said. ‘The ACT, because of the metrics involved, is a pretty steady test. If you move .3 or .4 or .5 on an ACT test, you’re actually moving the needle because they got it down to a science. It’s pretty pegged, so it stays pretty constant.?
As for the percentage of college-ready students, Oxford had 60 percent reach a minimum benchmark of 18 in English, 30 percent reached 22 in college algebra, 37 percent reached 22 in social studies and 32 percent reached 23 in biology. Eighteen percent achieved benchmark scores in all four subjects.
‘A benchmark score is a minimum score needed (in) an ACT subject area to indicate a 50 percent chance of obtaining a ‘B? grade or higher or about a 75 percent chance of obtaining a ‘C? or higher in the corresponding credit-bearing course,? Weaver explained.
Although Oxford is raring to attack its areas of weakness on the ACT, because the state is transitioning from the ACT to the SAT this year, trying to attack those areas won’t result in much, in Weaver’s opinion.
‘They are different tests and they do have different elements that they concentrate on and focus on,? he explained. ‘So, it’s one of those things that we can take lessons learned from this (the ACT) and we can apply what we can by matching up the tests and that’s what the high school will be doing and then moving forward looking at doing better (and basing school improvement on the SAT.?
Board Treasurer Dan D’Alessandro asked in comparing to Oxford to other schools, if they should expect SAT scores to be more level since it’s a new test? Weaver replied the biggest indicators to tests are socioeconomic status, so many of the districts that scored high on the ACT will also score high on the SAT.
‘The number one correlation between test scores and any other indicator is the socioeconomics status of the group you’re testing,? he said. ‘There (are) no ifs, ands or buts about it.?
‘Now, within in that where your socioeconomic group falls, there is going to be a range of whether or not your scoring in the low end of what’s expected for that group or the high-end for that group,? Weaver added. ‘That’s where you can work on those individual testing skills and you can work on preparing more specifically for the type of test you’ll be taking.?
D’Alessandro asked if they could put a goal out there for where they want to be in terms of a score for the SAT. Weaver suggested waiting until they take the first SAT test to get a feel for it, then build a target goal from those scores.
‘To set a number out there right now, it wouldn’t be based on anything,? he said. ‘We don’t know what the state average is going to be. We don’t know what the county average is going to be. So, we really don’t know any of that data.?
Trustee Mike Schweig asked if it would be fair to at least set a target to be ‘at or above the state average?? With the exception of Crossroads, because they vary in student population throughout the year and don’t have the same students all year long, Weaver thought that was reasonable.
‘The rest of the schools we should certainly target to be at the state average for all the schools combined. That would be a fair target to be at,? Weaver said.