The percent of juniors at Tualatin and Tigard  high schools who met all four ACT benchmarks slipped last year, according to a report presented to the school board on Friday.

According to statistics from ACT, students who meet the “College Readiness Benchmarks” have a 50 percent higher chance of earning a “B” or better, and a 75 percent chance of earning a “C” or better, in related college freshman-level coursework.

The percentage of juniors taking the ACT who met all four ACT benchmarks for the year 2011-2012 was 22 percent, a drop from 26 percent from the 2010-2011 year. The district goal for last year was for 27 percent.

However, the board is not worried over the unexpected drop: this is “just one data point.”

The report notes that the percentage of juniors taking the ACT who met the ACT benchmarks for English, math, and reading has undergone a conspicuous increase since the district first began the ACT program in the 2006-2007 school year. The percentage of juniors who met the ACT benchmark for science, however, has merely undergone a very slight rise.

The board has expressed its concern about how to help more juniors meet the ACT benchmark for science. It intends to look into the matter in more detail soon.

The report notes that the average composite score for both Caucasians and Latinos has risen. Among Caucasians, the average composite score has risen about 0.9 points to 21.8 from the 2007-2008 school year. Among Latinos, the average composite score has risen about 1.7 points to 17.3 from the 2007-2008 school year.

The board was pleased to hear the increase in average composite scores for both groups, but expressed the need to close the racial achievement gap even further.

The report also included ACT composite score history for both TTSD high schools and Durham Center. The average composite scores for both Tigard High School and Tualatin High School have risen since the 2007-2008 school year. Meanwhile, the average composite scores for Durham Center have fallen since the 2007-2008 school year. The report indicates that ACT composite and subject scores for the 2011-2012 school year are higher at Tualatin High School than Tigard High School.

The board is curious as to why ACT scores are higher at Tualatin High School than Tigard High School.

Overall, the board was pleased with the results of the 2011-2012 school year’s ACT, and look forward to next year’s ACT results.