Working to improve ACT scores

Hot Springs County High School (HSCHS) Math teacher Darren Elder, science teacher London Jenks, English teacher Lyle Wiley and Social Studies teacher Shane Corpening have been working together diligently in preparing high school juniors for the ACT test. Their efforts have helped the students significantly improve their ACT scores.

Principal Breez Daniels said, “I am extremely proud of the work our educators have done over the past few years to ensure we have a guaranteed and viable curriculum for our students in Hot Springs County High School!”

Daniels added, “There have been times over the years where I have heard people say that it is impossible to move the needle on the ACT, that it is one test, on one day. While that is true, it has been our mission at Hot Springs County High School to engage every single student in learning at high levels all year long, in every class. We have removed low rigor “alternative” English, math, science, and social studies classes from the schedule. Instead, every student has meaningful core classes aligned to the Wyoming Performance Standards.”

The Class of 2022 state ACT assessment results provided by the Wyoming Department of Education lists the scores of the 48 districts in Wyoming. Out of the 48 districts across the state, Hot Springs County has the #1 average score in math, with a 20.9, the state average was 18.8. Also, out of the 48 districts, they had the #1 average ACT score in science with a 21.5, the state average was 19.3. 

The students’ English Language Arts scores had an HSCHS English average of 19.3, compared to the state average of 17.8. The HSCHS reading average was 20.4, while the state average was 19.8. Across the board, the students outperformed their peers around the state.

The Class of 2022 overall composite average on the ACT was 20.7, placing them third in the state behind Big Horn #4 with a 20.8 and Park #16 with a 21.1. The statewide average composite on the ACT was 19. HSCHS students outperformed bigger 4A schools and small 1A schools alike.

The team of instructors highlight their efforts and gave insight into their strategies on how they help the students achieve these significant scores. Social studies teacher Shane Corpening added that, for the ACT, “they don’t assess social studies. So what we try to do is really kind of give a lot of support to the content areas that are assessed specifically reading and English.” 

Corpening and Wiley co-taught the junior English class last year to help the students prepare for the test. Wiley said, “We had good English and reading scores. Well, they weren’t as flashy as the math and science, but they were solid.”

The team of teachers emphasized that they did a lot of cross-collaboration. Wiley said, “We really specifically targeted skills, ACT skills and we specifically targeted deficiencies in skills. So we have a whole process where we look at standards and skills and we base our outcome assessments on those. But just in our team, we tried really hard to look at where we assess their skills on ACT level testing and then we try to fill gaps, which is in the last couple of years, we’ve been really looking hard and looking at data and trying to figure out.” These gaps are individual to the student. 

Jenks said, “The school pays for two ACT assessments for juniors and then they’ll actually cover them personally as well for two for juniors. And the state pays for a third one.”

Wiley added, “We’re talking about now is one single test. I think that’s actually kind of important because the cool thing is that some students scored much better on some categories in an earlier test. And it’s a three-and-a-half-hour-long test. Some of them targeted specific areas they want to improve because of the super score. The ACT super score, which is accepted at almost every university, now takes all of the highest scores in each category, and averages those for the overall composite score.”

Wiley explained how a super score is made and said, “Say Mr. Jenks took the test and he scored like a 36 on science and a 30 on reading, 30 on English, and then at 28 on that. And then the writing as well, but it’s not integrated into the score. And so the second time he tested and actually dropped in science all the way down to 25 or whatever. But the reason is math scores up to a 26 for 28. His overall composite super score would go up based on his improvement in one category.” Wiley added, “the super score is actually opening more doors for students.”

Jenks also explained that for a student to raise their test scores even two points higher, “it’s a pretty big change.”

Corpening mentioned the ACT scores impacting scholarship opportunities and college applications and said, “I’d say that there’s an understanding that their scores are opening lots of possibilities for a higher level.”

Jenks added, “Raising your scores in many cases is worth thousands and thousands of dollars. That’s why one of the reasons I appreciate the high school’s focus on the ACT is because the students’ results lead to a direct increase in funding for student future education through the State’s Hathaway program. If our students do well on the ACT, they have access to more funding for whatever post-secondary education they choose.”

Jenks continued and said, “I personally appreciate that the science portion of the ACT is focused on skills learned during years of science instruction, rather than content. These are skills that will benefit students for the rest of their lives.”

Darren Elder also said, “Our ACT success goes hand in hand with the Professional Learning Community (PLC) approach the high school and the district have integrated with fidelity and persistence over the years.”

Corpening added, “Social Sciences and English have been working hard in recent years to build cross-curricular benefits and focus on aligned Reading and English skills prominent in the ACT.”

Wiley added, “In the last couple of years, Math, Science, Social Science, and English departments across the district have committed to aligning state standards and ACT skills when deciding key skills to teach and assess. This process, a component of the PLC process, is having a direct impact on the level of skills that students are learning, which impacts ACT results. We’re starting to see some payoff for this process.”

Taking the ACT twice helps students get accustomed to the timing and duration of the test. It sometimes takes the pressure off of students who are nervous about what the test looks like and helps them understand the long amount of time that they need to focus to be successful on the test.

A major challenge our students face is keeping focus and intensity for the duration of the 3.5-hour test.