The Public Schools’ average ACT score is a full point-and-a-half LESS than the Non-Public Schools. But the Department of Education won’t report that. In fact, the Tennessee Department of Education takes advantage of the higher ACT scores by Non-Public School students by falsely reporting the average score for ALL Tennessee students’ as if it were the average score for Public School Students.
On the 2008 TDOE Report Card, the Department reports both the 2007 and 2008 average composite ACT score as 20.7. But that’s NOT the average for Public School students in Tennessee. That’s the average for all 50,225 students who took the ACT test in 2008 (48,113 in 2007). And it overstates the average ACT score of Public School students by about a half a point.
The data reported by the ACT Corp. for Tennessee can be found here: http://www.act.org/news/data/08/pdf/states/Tennessee.pdf. Here’s an excerpt from the tables on page 9 of that report:
Here’s the misrepresentation by the Department:
In 2007, 35,715 Public School students took the ACT, with an average score of 20.3. In addition to those Public School students, 12,398 NON-Public School students also took the test, with an average score of 21.85. When you combine them with the public school students, it raises the state average from 20.3 to 20.7.
In 2008, 36,764 Public School students took the ACT, with an average score of 20.3. In addition to those Public School students, 13,461 NON-Public School students also took the test, with an average score of 21.79. When you combine them with the Public School students, it raises the overall state from 20.3 to 20.7.
The numbers and average scores for the Public School students are compiled from the Department’s own TVAAS system which gives results by school and by school system.
I have a full report (TN ACT Scores 2008.pdf) which pulls the data together and shows the average composite ACT score for all 119 school systems in Tennessee with high schools. Here’s a portion of the final page:
The report is an update to research I did last spring, during the furor over the Tennessee Department of Education’s arbitrary decision to reject homeschool diplomas for state regulated jobs in law enforcement and daycare. I was hoping to discover the average ACT score for Tennessee homeschool students so that I could compare it to the average ACT score for Tennessee public school students. Sadly, the ACT Corp. doesn’t report the homeschool scores separately for individual states.
The irony and outrage here is that the state Department of Education has the audacity to reject the high school diplomas issued by homeschools and church-related schools while at the same time using the higher ACT scores from those students to boost their own average.
The Tennessee legislature needs to take steps in 2009 to clearly adopt a policy that recognizes homeschool and church school diplomas and overturn the arrogant attacks by the Department of Education.
Rob Shearer, Vice President
Tennessee Association of Church-Related Schools (TACRS)