Saint Paul Public Schools ACT participation climbs by 10 percent

Office of Community Relations

Contact: Howie Padilla
Office: (651) 767-8104, Cell: (612) 251-5714

August 13, 2008

Saint Paul, Minn – A total of 1,398 Saint Paul Public Schools (SPPS) students made a key step toward higher education this year when they took the ACT, one of two major college entrance exams. That total increased by 10 percent compared with 2007 when 1,270 took the test. It represents the highest number of students taking the test since 2003.

“In an effort to hold ourselves accountable, we have made systemic changes to increase opportunities for students to take college preparatory and planning exams, including the ACT, PSAT and SAT,” said Superintendent Meria Carstarphen. “Too many of our students and families don’t know the process for getting into college, beginning with the exams necessary to apply to college. In Saint Paul Public Schools, we’re changing that.”

A highlight for the District is the increase in the number of African American, Asian and Latino students who took the test. When compared to last year, the number of Asian students rose from 474 to 502, the number of Hispanic students tested more than doubled from 37 to 80 and the number of African American students tested climbed from 197 to 259.

The composite test score for the district dipped slightly when compared with last year from 20.1 to 19.8. However, research shows that when school districts significantly test more students, it is common to see a decrease in performance.

With the launch of the Strategic Plan for Continued Excellence, the District emphasized college access and preparation. For the first time, in the fall of 2007, SPPS provided more than 2,000 11th grade students with the opportunity to take the PSAT free of charge. That exam is not only used to measure critical reading skills, math problem-solving skills and writing, it is also the National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test.

The ACT is recognized primarily by Midwestern college and universities as a requirement for application. Some two-year colleges require an ACT or SAT score to enroll, along with most four-year colleges and universities.

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