Spring Branch ISD Gets Good News on the ACT: For the Fifth Year in a Row, Spring Branch Increases Participation and Substantially Outperforms the State

Spring Branch received good news recently about our results on the ACT.  Below are the highlights, which can be viewed by clicking on the images below, or by clicking here.

• From 2004 to 2009, participation in the ACT more than doubled, a 100% increase, from 431 to 863 students, compared with a 15% increase in participation across the state. In spite of the dramatic increase in participation over the six years, performance has remained relatively unchanged.
• Participation in 2009 increased by nearly 100 students over the previous year, an increase of more than 12% compared with a state increase of 4.5%.
• Performance dropped slightly in all tests and composite scores (.2 to .5 points) in 2009 compared with 2008.
• Performance at the college ready levels continues to exceed state rates by 14 to 19 percentage points, with college algebra leading for the second straight year, 19 points over the state average.
• In 2009, over three-quarters (77%) of the students taking College English Composition performed at or above the college ready level of 18, 14 percentage points above the state average.
• In 2009, average math scores exceeded the state in all subject combinations except those students taking less than 3 years of math. Students taking Alg 1 and 2, Geometry, and Trig (Pre-Calculus) outperformed the state average the greatest (+3.8%), closely followed by students who also took Calculus (+3.4%).
• Compared with 2008, performance of students taking Alg 1 and 2, Geometry, and Trig (Pre-Calculus) increased significantly (+4.0), while the state average actually declined (-0.5).
• Compared with 2008, performance of students taking less than 3 years of math dropped significantly from 25.1 in 2008 to 16.3 in 2009.
• In 2009 and 2008, average science scores exceeded the state averages in all course combinations.

As I stated in my post last year about our 2008 ACT results, while the results show there is still room for improvement, it appears clear that the District's college focus and goal that all students will graduate and then obtain a 2 year certificate, 2 year Associates Degree, or 4 year Baccalaureate Degree is showing very positive results.