20-Year ACT Performance in Illinois Shows Consistent Improvement

Just-released data from ACT shows that Illinois ACT scores were up .2 points overall for the Class of 2011, capping a 20-year trend of consistent and substantial ACT score increases. 

Since the ACT test currently is the best overall measure of students' academic performance in Illinois, due to its decades-long track record of reliability and validity across the country, the data are particularly significant.  

Using the Class of 1991 as the baseline, the attached graph depicts overall Illinois Final ACT Report composite score performance changes over the past 20 years. 

The large drop in Illinois scores between the Classes of 2001 and 2002 was due to the change to universal testing, when ACT testing levels in Illinois changed from 71 percent of all graduates to 99 percent of all graduates. 

Most new test takers were Illinois’ lowest performing students. With such a greatly different student pool, there is no way to compare performance between both classes.

Illinois ACT performance has increased in 13 of the remaining 19 years, including the projected growth for the graduating Class of 2011. Performance stayed the same in five years. In only one year did the performance decline, and PSAE ACT data for the Class of 2011 shows a rebound to an even higher level from that slight Class of 2010 dip. 

For the Classes of 1991 through 2001, the era of college-bound only testing, the composite scores in Illinois went up .8, double the .4 increase for the national average. 

During the universal testing years, ACT performance increased .6 points from the Class of 2002 to the Class of 2010, triple the .2 increase for the national average. 

Another .2 increase is expected for the Illinois Class of 2011, due to the increase in PSAE ACT performance. The universal testing of Class of 2011 students is expected to produce higher average scores than for the college-bound only tested Class of 1991.

While Illinois schools have plenty of room for improvement, this growth shows that they have taken the school improvement challenge seriously and achieved substantial success.

The study was conducted by the Department of Research and Evaluation at Township High School District 214.

— Submitted by School District 214