Lake Washington students’ ACT scores remain above state and national averages

September 25, 2017 10:30 am
Lake Washington students’ ACT scores remain above state and national averages

Lake Washington School District (LWSD) students are more likely to meet college readiness standards than other students in Washington state or the U.S. Comparatively, more LWSD students score high enough to meet the ACT college readiness benchmark.

Nationally, only 27 percent of students met this standard for all four subjects tested: college English composition (English), college algebra (math), college social science (reading) and college biology (science). Just 36 percent met the standard statewide. Sixty percent of the students in LWSD who took the ACT met the benchmark scores in all subjects tested.

This list shows the percent of students who met the college readiness benchmark score in each area in 2017:

English

District 90%

State 62%

National 61%

Math

District 79%

State 51%

National 41%

Reading

District 78%

State 52%

National 47%

Science

District 70%

State 44%

National 37%

Met all four

District 60%

State 36%

National 27%

The number of students taking the ACT continues to rise in LWSD. In 2017, 749 students took the ACT. That is 145 students more than last year, and 237 more than in 2015.

“Lake Washington students continue to score higher than state and national standards on the ACT,” noted Dr. Traci Pierce, superintendent. “These results show that our students and teachers work hard every day to ensure that every student is future ready.”

The district’s average composite score fell slightly from 26.4 in 2016 to 26.0 in 2017. State composite scores also decreased, from 23.1 in 2016 to 21.9 in 2017. The national average rose slightly from 20.8 to 21.0.

Reading scores:

LWSD’s average ACT reading score decreased slightly from 26.7 in 2016 to 26.3 in 2017. State scores decreased more dramatically, from 23.6 in 2016 to 22.1 in 2017. National scores increased slightly from 21.3 to 21.4.

Science scores:

Average scores for LWSD students decreased in science from 26.0 in 2016 to 25.7 in 2017. State scores also decreased, from 22.9 to 22.0. National scores increased slightly from 20.8 to 21.0.

English scores:

The average ACT English score for LWSD also decreased slightly, from 26.3 in 2016 to 25.8 in 2017. State scores also declined from 22.3 to 20.9. National scores increased slightly from 20.1 in 2016 to 20.3 in 2017.

Math scores:

Average ACT math scores decreased from 26.1 in 2016 to 25.8 in 2017. State scores also decreased from 23.2 to 21.9 National scores rose by .1 – from 20.6 in 2016 to 20.7 in 2017.