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player ready...The number of students taking AP tests at Glenbard High School District 87 schools has more than doubled since 2007, which officials say might be the reason for students’ increasing college preparedness.
Statewide statistics made public last week measure college readiness across all subjects based on the percentage of students who meet certain scores on four sections of the ACT college entrance exam. The state determined that 33.2 percent of District 87’s students met the requirement, compared to about 25 percent of students across the state.
The state also measures students’ readiness for college coursework based on their overall ACT scores. By that measure, more than 45 percent of students statewide, and 56.6 percent of District 87 students, were determined ready.
While the district’s college readiness figuresare similar to those in last year’s state report card, Jeffrey Feucht, assistant superintendent for education services, said the number of students scoring 20 or higher on their ACTs could be the result of more students taking AP courses.
“I attribute this to getting more kids involved in challenging courses,” he said.
About 2,382 students took 4,770AP tests in the spring, up 118 percent since 2007, Feucht said. About 43.5 percent of this year’s graduating seniors passed at least one AP exam, meaning they scored a 3 or higher during their four years of high school.
A score of 3 denotes that a student is qualified to complete course work in an introductory-level college course, according to the College Board. Students in AP courses are not required to take the tests as a condition of the class, though it is encouraged.
District officials hope to see 60 percent of graduating seniors passing at least one AP exam during the 2017-18 school year, Feucht said.
“We’re encouraging kids to ‘level up’ in their areas of interest, and encouraging them to take more challenging courses,” he said. “The more kids taking challenging courses, the more likely it is that they’ll do well in college.”
The district is less interested in the number of AP courses a student takes than in the number of students signing up for AP courses for the first time, he said. About 63.5 percent of 2015 graduating seniors took at least one AP course in their four years of high school.
To help reach students who may shy away from the more challenging courses, the district has partnered with Equal Opportunity Schools, a Seattle-based non-profit that aims to identify potential AP students. The hope is to reach more minority students and that the enrollment gap between middle- to upper-income students and their lower-income counterparts will close, Feucht said.
When it comes to ACT scores, the district uses a slightly different measure than the state to calculate college readiness. While the state looks at the percentage of students with an overall score of 21 or higher, District 87 looks at how many students scored a 20 or higher.
“We thought 21 was a little artificially high for the threshold,” Feucht said. “We wanted to make it something more realistic for what four-year schools are expecting.”
During the 2014-15 school year, 69.6 percent of students scored a 20 or higher, compared to about 62 percent in 2013, according to district documents. The district’s goal is for 75 percent by the 2017-18 school year – something officials said could be achieved with more students enrolling in challenging courses.
ACT scores vary among the district’s four high schools, with Glenbard East and North dragging slightly behind the scores of Glenbard South and West. This could be due to the East and North’s higher percentage of lower-income students, Feucht said. East’s and North’s student population is roughly 42 percent low-income compared to 24.5 percent at South and West.
District 87 this year will fund ACT examinations, spending about $140,000, due to state funding uncertainties.
“We feel the ACT is still relevant, and we think it is still considered a part of what’s looked at in future college endeavors,” said board president Rich Heim. “So we chose to fund it until the state decides what to do.”
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