Lake Washington School District students who take the ACT, a standardized test widely used in college admissions, continue to be more likely to meet college readiness standards than other students in Washington or in the United States.

More district students score high enough on each of the four ACT tests to meet the college readiness benchmark that ACT has set for all four subjects: English, math, reading and science. While nationally 26 percent of students met this standard for all four subjects and 39 percent met it statewide, 57 percent of the students in district who took the ACT qualified. This maintains last year’s gains.

Ninety-two percent of district students taking the ACT met the college readiness benchmark score in English, compared to 75 percent statewide and 64 percent nationwide. In math, 78 percent of district students met the readiness benchmark, while at the state level it was 60 percent and 44 percent nationally.

For reading, 75 percent of district students met the benchmark compared to 58 percent statewide and 44 percent nationally. In science, 68 percent of Lake Washington School District students met the readiness benchmark while 49 percent statewide and 36 percent nationally met that standard.

The number of students in the district who took the ACT test fell from 485 in 2011 to 450 in 2012. That is still higher than the 403 students who took the test in 2009.

The district’s average composite score remained steady from 2012 to 2013 at 25.5, a number exceeded only by the 2011 average score of 25.6. Both state and national composite scores fell in 2013. State composite scores dropped from 22.9 in 2012 to 22.8 in 2013. The national average fell from 21.1 to 20.9.

Average scores for Lake Washington students rose in science, from 24.8 in 2012 to 25.0 in 2013. Lake Washington scores have risen every year for the last five years. Washington state scores also rose, from 22.4 to 22.5 while national score averages fell from 20.9 to 20.7.

Lake Washington’s average scores fell slightly in math in 2013, from 25.5 to 25.4. The state and national scores dropped even more. The state score fell from 23.1 in 2012 to 22.8 in 2013 and the national average in math was 20.9, down from 21.1.

The district’s reading scores averaged 25.7, slightly down from 25.9 in 2012. Reading scores in the state in 2013 averaged 23.3, exactly the same as the year before, while national scores fell to 21.1, down from 21.3.

Lake Washington’s English scores rose to 25.5 in 2013 from 25.3 in 2012, bucking the state and national trend toward lower scores on this subject. State level English scores fell from 22.3 in 2012 to 22.1 in 2013 while national English scores fell from 20.5 to 20.2.

For more information on the ACT test itself and on national results, go to the ACT website.