Huntley High School sees another big ACT gain

Huntley High School's Class of 2008 didn't make it easy. The class raised the school's average ACT score by 0.8, issuing a tough challenge to their successors.

No problem, said the Class of 2009.

The class that received its diplomas in the spring beat the Class of 2008 by a full point, averaging 22.4 on the college entrance exam - 1.6 above the state average.

"They went up a whole point. That's unbelievable," said Mary Olson, director of curriculum and instruction. "We even beat last year's increase."

District officials attributed the positive results to a deliberate effort to teach high school students the skills that are tested on the ACT.

"It's the result of a school improvement process that involved better aligning our curriculum to what's being tested on the ACT," said Huntley Principal Dave Johnson, who called the results "very encouraging."

Officials said it will be difficult for the high school to continue recording dramatic gains on the test but that continued efforts should result in slower but steady growth in test scores.

"They won't happen every year," Superintendent John Burkey said, adding, "I really feel we can be in the 23 range over time. We're definitely capable of that."

The Class of 2009 scored higher than the previous class in every subject area tested. On a test measured out of 36 possible points, English scores rose by 1.2, math went up 1.1, reading was up 0.9 and science increased by 0.8.

This year's junior class will be the first that has passed through the high school's Freshman Academy, an isolated area of the school that teaches freshmen the skills they need for continued high school success.

The class has also faced three years of tests with questions that mimic the types of questions they encounter on the ACT.

"There were some really nice initiatives that were put in," Olson said. "We're anxious to see the results."