slideshow

More Newberry County seniors have taken the ACT college entrance exam for 2012.

However, while participation has slightly increased, the county remains under the state average as well as the national average.

For 2012, Newberry County had 152 seniors take the ACT exam. This includes all seniors within the public high schools. For 2011, Newberry County had slightly less seniors take the ACT exam with 146 total.

The mean composite score for 2012 was 18.6 which is actually just .4 points beneath 2011’s senior test takers.

The composite score is the average of the four test scores and then rounded to the nearest whole number.

Students have four sections to the ACT which include English, math, reading and science and scores are based on a 36 point grading scale.

While the SAT college entrance exam is an implied learning test, the ACT is curriculum based and measures the academic skills taught in the classroom.

Newberry County overall

For the mean individual scores for each subject for Newberry County seniors for 2012 are as follows:

English 17.8

Math 18.8

Reading 18.6

Science 18.5

On a statewide level for all graduating seniors for 2012, the mean individual scores for each subject are as follows:

English 19.5

Math 20.2

Reading 20.4

Science 20.1

The difference between the state and Newberry County is just 1.6 for the individual scores per subject.

However, it should be noted that participation is increasing and gains are being made across the state as well as in Newberry County.

Mid-Carolina, Whitmire increase participation

As for the three public high schools, Mid-Carolina and Whitmire improved its participation while Newberry actually decreased in participation.

Mid-Carolina had 86 seniors take the exam in 2012 (an increase of three students) and Whitmire had 13 seniors take the exam in 2012 (an increase of 10 students.)

Newberry had 53 seniors take the exam in 2012 with a decrease of seven students.

The mean composite scores for 2012 for the following schools are as follows:

Mid-Carolina 19.8 (They had a decrease of .1 from 2011)

Newberry 16.4 (They had a decrease of 1.5 from 2011)

Whitmire 19.5 (Since Whitmire had less than five students take the ACT in 2011, their results aren’t available)

As for the 2012 mean individual scores for each subject for the schools are as follows:

Mid-Carolina English, 19.3; Math, 19.7; Reading, 20; Science, 19.5

Newberry English, 15; Math, 17.2; Reading, 16.3; Science, 16.7

Whitmire English, 18.8; Math, 19.7; Reading, 19.3; Science, 19.5

The ACT is used for entrance into college and either the ACT or SAT may be accepted for admission. South Carolina has been slightly below the national average since 2007.