The results of the 2009/10 American College Test (ACT) have been released and they show that more Lee County students are participating in ACT testing and scores have improved over the previous year.

According to Joe Doonzelli, a spokesman for the Lee County School board, approximately 300 more seniors participated in ACT testing than did the previous year (2,706 students in 2009/10 vs. 2,385 in 2008/09), an increase of 13.5 percent as compared to the statewide increase of less than eight percent.

“We continue to work to provide students with various educational opportunities, and I am glad to see ACT participation increasing,” said Dr. James Browder, superintendent of schools.

“We’ll continue to work hard so this trend continues over the years to come.”

The local composite (or average) score improved from 18.6 to 19.0. The state’s overall average remained unchanged, while the national average dipped by a tenth of a percent, Donzelli said. This past school year the District implemented a plan to register all seniors for ACT testing who had not successfully completed the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test (FCAT.)

State graduation requirements allow students to use passing ACT scores (15 or higher) to graduate in place of FCAT scores. This initiative enabled approximately 275 students to take the ACT and graduate who otherwise would not have qualified, Donzelli said.

The ACT is a voluntary assessment that measures student abilities in the academic areas traditionally identified with college preparatory high school programs: English, mathematics, reading, and science reasoning. ACT scores are reported on a scale ranging from 1 to 36. Students planning on attending college must take either the Scholastic Assessment Test (SAT) or the American College Test (ACT) for entrance into most state and national colleges.