The Minnesota Department of Education (MDE)  released the results of the 2018 ACT scores for each school district statewide.

For Austin Public Schools, the average composite score for 2018 was 19.7 with 289 students having taken the exam, according to the MDE’s data. The number of students who were able to take the ACT this year increased from 2017, which were 262 students, and the average composite score was 19.2.

While the scores have shown an uptick in both students taking the tests and the scores themselves, they only represent a portion of the bigger picture for Austin.

“We still look at everything,” said Austin Superintendent David Krenz. “This is just one of the measurements along with state assessments and local assessments. It’s key to informing us how we are teaching and what we are teaching.”

Krenz pointed out the inherent drawback to the ACTs in that they are only taken once. But the ACTs along with these other measuring sticks are an indication that the school is in step with those goals they want to see achieved, including reaching students of diversity where English is a second language.

The final result is a school that is seeing progress by its students.

“We’re seeing tremendous growth in all of our students,” Krenz said. “We take all of this in. What we’re seeing is teachers using this data to change their instruction. We’re seeing our indicators and growth and they are progressing.”

Overall picture of state results

Nationally, 55 percent of 2018 graduates took the ACT, and earned an average composite score of 20.8. Minnesota’s overall score was down 0.2 points from last year, but increased slightly from 2016, when the state first opened access to 17,000 additional students by providing the ACT to high school juniors statewide, according to the MDE.

Minnesota was among 19 states where 90 percent or more students took the college entrance examand earned a composite score of 21.3.

“Thousands of Minnesota students are showing us that they are graduating high school with the skills they need to be successful in their careers or college experiences,” said Education Commissioner Brenda Cassellius. “It is our goal that students are well prepared for their next step in life, whether it is securing their first job or attending the college of their choice. Minnesotans should be very proud of their students, and the educators who are helping them succeed.”

According to the MDE, 30 percent of the state’s graduates in 2018 met all four ACT college-readiness benchmarks, compared to 27 percent of students across the United States, which meant the likelihood of students being prepared for college-level coursework.

The ACT report also showed that 27,188 of Minnesota’s 2018 graduates taking the ACT two or more times had an average composite score of 23.7, which is 4.4 points higher than the 34,065 graduates who took the test only once. Despite Minnesota schools offering the ACT at no cost to students who aren’t able to afford paying for the test, the ACT also provides fee waivers to students who qualify for free or reduced-price meals, which would cover the cost for those wishing to take it again. About 27 percent of the state’s high school students who qualified for fee waivers didn’t use them.

“In Minnesota, we have worked to eliminate barriers between our students access to post secondary education,” Cassellius said. “I’d like to see more students taking advantage of these fee waivers to improve their scores significantly by taking the test a second time without incurring any fees. This is important to improve equitable access to career and college for all Minnesota students.”

—Eric Johnson contributed to this report