Oklahoma Students Continue To Improve

Wednesday, August 15th 2007, 6:00 am

By: News On 6

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) _ High school students in Oklahoma scored higher on the ACT for the third consecutive year, but still lagged behind the national average, according to newly released statistics. Oklahoma students improved their scores by two-tenths of 1% overall, with slight increases in all four categories, math, science, English and reading, the Iowa-based testing company reported Wednesday.

Overall, Oklahoma students improved the average test score from 20.5 in 2006 to 20.7 in 2007, on a scale of 1 to 36. Students nationwide, meanwhile, improved their average composite score from 21.1 last year to 21.2 in 2007.

The ACT is a curriculum-based achievement test that is the predominant college entrance exam in 25 states, including Oklahoma.

``We're very encouraged that our students show clear progress, posting a 20.7 in 2007, our Centennial year,'' state Superintendent Sandy Garrett said in a statement. ``As we continue to implement the Achieving Classroom Excellence Act and push for more time on task _ time reform _ our focus is on college- and work-readiness and surpassing the national average on every educational indicator, including the ACT.''

Pushed by Governor Brad Henry and signed into law in 2007, the Achieving Classroom Excellence Act increased teacher pay, boosted math and other course requirements for high school students and encouraged high school seniors to take college courses. A testing component included in the bill was phased in over several years.

The ACT results released Wednesday showed Oklahoma students improved in each of the four testing categories from 2006 to 2007 _ from 20.3 to 20.5 in English, from 19.7 to 19.8 in math, from 21.1 to 21.3 in reading, and 20.4 to 20.5 in science.

Although the scores suggest high school graduates in Oklahoma who took the ACT test are more prepared for college, the results show Oklahoma students could benefit from more rigorous coursework, particularly in math and science.

Only 9% of Oklahoma test takers who took the minimum core curriculum of three years of math, Algebra I or higher, met or surpassed ACT's College Readiness Benchmarks, which indicates whether a student is ready to take a college algebra test. By comparison, 55% of those who took an extra year of math met or surpassed the benchmark, ACT reported.

Those numbers are disturbing to Senator Kathleen Wilcoxson, the co-chair of the Senate Education Committee, who argues Oklahoma students need more rigorous standards and testing and cut scores that more accurately reflect a student's ability to master the coursework.

``It's the rigor of our standards, the rigor of our tests and the cut scores _ these things all need to be aligned so that when we tell students they are satisfactory, that should mean they are ready for the next course or ready for college,'' said Wilcoxson, R-Oklahoma City. ``As of today, it doesn't mean that at all.''

Wilcoxson said students who take the eighth-grade math test need only score a 44% to be rated satisfactory.

``It means they met these standards, but it doesn't mean they're ready for Algebra I,'' Wilcoxson said. ``We are deceiving students. Cut scores should indicate whether a student is ready for the next level, and they don't do that today.''

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