THE JOURNAL & TOPICS NEWSPAPERS | THURSDAY, AUGUST 28, 2008

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Township High School Dist. 214's ACT composite scores have risen by two-tenths of a point for the sixth year in a row.

The 1.2 point overall increase is double the statewide increase of six-tenths of a point.

District officials said the consistent growth since the Class of 2002, when all Illinois juniors began taking the ACT, is attributed to district-wide school improvement( efforts initiated several years ago.

"The district-wide improvement trend is extremely consistent, and its overall magnitude is substantial," said Dr. Steve Cordogan, director of research and evaluation. "These increases are a powerful indicator of systematic school and curricular improvement."

Despite a three-tenths of a point decrease in the Class of 2008's EXPORE scores as incoming freshmen, the overall average composite ACT score for the Class of 2008 is 23.1, two-tenths of a point higher than the Class of 2007.

All Dist. 214's schools improved by at least five-tenths of a point on their composite score since the Class of 2002, the district said.

Prospect and Hersey high schools have made the largest gains, 2.2 and 1.9 points respectively, led by their English scores, but with gains in other subject areas.

Hersey's English score remained the most improved subject area, growing from 21.9 to 25.1 despite Class of 2008 EXPLORE English scores that were lower than those from 2002 by .25 points.

This year's state average ACT composite score is 20.7, and the national composite score is 21.1.