Now, don’t get too excited here. Nothing has changed with Elmbrook’s ACT scores. They are still in the top 10 scores for public schools.
What is SIGNIFICANT is that Elmbrook’s Dr. Joe Schroeder, Assistant Superintendent, chose this time to address the board about these benchmark ACT scores. Maybe he has done this before. Then the fact that Brookfield NOW reported it is newsworthy.
When you read Stefanie Scott’s article,
Benchmarks show less than half of Elmbrook students ready for college, did you wonder how
recent “Recently” was, in the article’s second sentence?
I did. So did a reader, who kindly shared these two responses to their inquiries about these benchmark scores.
“ACT's College Readiness Benchmarks were established in 2003.
I hope this helps. If you need any additional information, please don't
hesitate to contact me.
Best regards,
Ed Colby
ACT Media Relations"
“The ACT college benchmarks were established approximately 5 years ago.
Robert L. Ziomek, Ph.D.
Director, Department of Education and
Workforce Research Services
Research and Development Division"
We see that these benchmark scores have been around 4-5 years. So, what is so significant about this “news”?
The fact that Elmbrook Schools was using these
old news scores to seemingly alarm the public about our inability to prepare our students for college! To me, their message is that we better replace our present high schools with a pair of quasi-remodeled/new ones in order to compete. That is where the significance lies.
It is important to note that our School District always seems to boast about their top ten ACT scores standing when justifying their expenses. The ACT and other test scores are always pointed to as a mark of achievement at the annual budget meeting. But now that the district wants something—a $108.8 M building referendum—suddenly a standard that came out several years ago is noteworthy?
Yes, we can improve. Private schools often out score us by 2 or more points. (They frequently use old castoff public school buildings too, or in the case of Brookfield Academy, an old bowling alley! That fact rather flies in the face of Elmbrook’s rational that we need new buildings in order to properly educate children.)
But do high ACT scores really indicate anything beyond the fact that we “teach to the test” and have prepared our students well in how to take an ACT test? (There is a strategy and art to taking the ACT. Students can take classes in test taking and even take practice tests.) The show "Frontline", some years ago, investigated the ACT/SAT score inconsistencies with actual college success. This is why many universities give a placement test of their own and then mandate remedial classes for freshmen.
I believe the REAL
test or benchmark of how well Elmbrook is doing its job, would be to track how well their graduates do once in college. Average always means some score higher and some lower, but I don’t get a sense from the parents I know, whose children are finished with high school, that their offspring have not been prepared for college. That has not been an idea expressed in letters to the editor or brought up at all. In fact, the anonymous letter posted on my blog stated that they thought their children were very well prepared and were doing well in college.
Success in college cannot be measured solely by an ACT score. So much depends on the maturity of the student and their will to succeed. We all know of perfectly brilliant young people who see their college years as party time and consequently don’t succeed. Contrast them with the students who struggled all through high school but finally met their stride in their college years.
One can always use statistics to argue any point of view. Elmbrook seems to be doing that now. Mark Twain frequently quoted Disraeli in saying, “There are three kinds of lies: lies, @#$%&* lies, and statistics” But if you were still wondering what those benchmarks are, here are some statistics and links to related websites and articles.
Scoring above benchmark predicts 50% of students getting college B or above in that subject.
Scoring lower than benchmark predicts 35% getting college B or above in that subject
The average Elmbrook ACT scores were all above the benchmark with the exception of the science (biology) test, which were short of the benchmark by .1 for Central, and .6 for East.
One reader noted: Please note when reading the data that Elmbrook is maybe half-a-point or a point higher than other school districts (not much of a bragging right, really), while Brookfield Academy scores of 26 - 27 are a good 2 - 3 points above Elmbrook. Now THAT's significant.
ACT 2005 College Readiness Benchmarks AC
