ShawneeDispatch.com

Shawnee Mission Northwest High School's ACT composite scores are up this year with a 23.9 average.

Northwest principal Bill Harrington said in the past five years, numbers have fluctuated by a few tenths of a point year to year.

Last year's average composite score at Northwest was 23.4, while in 2006 the average composite score was 23.8.

While this year's average composite score of 23.9 is just one-tenth of a point higher than what the school saw two years ago, Harrington pointed out that it was the highest average composite score the school has had in the past five years.

Eighty percent of Northwest's graduating class of about 430 students took the ACT. That adds up to about 344 students.

Harrington said a combination of factors could be attributed to the school's scores this year.

"We do promote a very rigorous core curriculum that we want more and more of our kids to take," he said. "If they complete it, they certainly do better on these assessments."

Although there are ACT prep sessions available to students, Harrington said he didn't think it was a large element of the school's high test scores.

"That is not one of those things that I can say that is definitely a contributing factor," he said.

Harrington also noted he couldn't account for the students who prepared for the ACT on their own, although he knew it was happening.

"We had one student who got a perfect score on that," he said. "Those kids who score above 30, they are really preparing well."

At Shawnee Mission North High School, composite scores decreased from 22.9 last year to 21.8 this year.

Principal Richard Kramer noted that although the scores decreased, a 21.8 composite was still a good score and above the national average.

However, Kramer does hope to see that score inch back up in the next few years as initiatives at North come to fruition.

"We've got a lot of good things in place that we think will go a long way in achieving higher scores," he said.

One of those initiatives is getting students involved in a test prep class offered at the school. This year, there are two full blocks of test prep courses.

Kramer said the staff also is encouraging students to take pretests like the PSAT or the ACT PLAN test.

"Starting last year, we sent out letters to our top 100 students in each of the three grade levels to take the PSAT test and ACT PLAN test," Kramer said. "We are really pushing our kids to start taking those tests early so they can get an idea of where their strengths and weaknesses are."

Kramer said students also are encouraged to take more Advanced Placement and honors classes, and seniors are encouraged to take a full course load during their last semester.

"We want our kids to be pushed and they need to be pushed," he said. "We renamed our honor rolls to Indian Honor Roll and Principal's Honor Roll, and we put them in the hallway for all the students to see. We want our kids to know if they do academically achieve, they are going to be recognized."

Kramer said he also would like to see more students take the ACT test. About 224 students took the ACT last year.

Overall the district composite score is at 23.8, well above the Kansas composite score of 22 and the national composite score of 21.1.

Superintendent Gene Johnson said in a news release he was pleased with the district's results, which were two-tenths of a point higher than last year.

"The district's composite score represents a five-year high," he said. "This achievement reflects the hard work and commitment put forth each day by students and staff in classrooms across our district."

In other Shawnee Mission high schools, composite scores were:

¢ Shawnee Mission East, 24.9.

¢ Shawnee Mission South, 23.9.

¢ Shawnee Mission West, 23.6.