Fayette’s 2006 graduating seniors posted the county’s highest average composite score on the ACT – 22.5 – compared to scores from the last four years.

The scores show improvement across all curriculum areas tested. Compared to the 2005 results, scores are up .3 in English, .5 in Mathematics, .3 in Reading and .1 in science. The average composite score increased .3 from 2005.

Not only are Fayette’s scores on the rise, but they are also ahead of the average national and state composites. Nationally, students scored 21.1 compared to Fayette’s 22.5 – a 1.4 difference. Likewise, the state’s average score of 20.2 falls 2.3 points below that of the county.

“We are proud of our students, parents and faculty for their hard work in pursuit of academic excellence. We will continue to explore cutting edge programs and techniques that will help our students achieve their full academic potential,” says Superintendent John DeCotis.

While Fayette’s scores rose, so did the number of test takers. A total of 647 students took the test in 2006 compared to 549 in 2005, an 18 percent increase. Over the last four years, the number of graduating seniors taking the test has increased by almost 78 percent since 2003.

The ACT consists of curriculum-based tests of educational development in English, mathematics, reading and science designed to measure the skills needed for success in the first year of college.

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