Mundelein High wants to raise ACT scores
Mundelein High School's newly released ACT college entrance exam scores aren't good - and Superintendent Jody Ware knows it.
"We're very disappointed in the scores," Ware said.
The composite score for the recently graduated Class of 2010 was 20.9 out of a possible 36 - just above the state average of 20.7 and below the national average of 21.0.
Additionally, the school's 20.2 score on the English portion of the test was below the state average of 20.3.
Ware didn't blame the students for the low scores, nor did she try to fault one particular demographic group in the ethnically diverse school.
The school must improve teacher quality and change the culture to one that's academically successful, she said.
"Every kid can learn, will learn and deserves to learn," Ware said. "Failure cannot be an option in this district."
The ACT includes a multiple-choice section covering English, math, reading and science. An optional writing section measures skill in planning and essay composition.
Mundelein's scores reflect the work of 492 graduating seniors. Juniors take the test as part of the Prairie State Achievement Examination, too, but the scores students receive the last time they take the test are the ones that count.
Mundelein's composite score also was 20.9 in 2009, officials said.
On the most recent tests, Mundelein High's students scored slightly above the state average in math, reading and science.
The students averaged 21.1 in math, 21.2 in reading and 20.8 in science. The state averages were 20.7 in math, 20.8 in reading and 20.5 in science.
Mundelein High's scores in 2010 were lower than its scores in 2009 in English and math but slightly higher in reading and science.
The scores are particularly troublesome for Ware because of the changes made during her two-year tenure at Mundelein High to the organization and curriculum. Officials have added courses, lowered class sizes, improved technology, set new objectives and reached out to the school's many Hispanic students and parents, Ware said.
Both Ware and Principal Lauren Fagel joined the staff in 2008. School board President Edwin Specht hopes the programs they've instituted lead to improvements on the ACT in the next few years, as students who were freshmen that first year take the exam as upperclassmen.
"Our goal... is that they will come to fruition," Specht said.