Serving Southern Jefferson County in the Great State of Montana
Serving Southern Jefferson County in the Great State of Montana
Whitehall High School senior class members take part in the Homecoming Parade. Recently released ACT test scores from last school year showed the class set a high standard for future students.
When the statewide 2016 ACT score results were released last week, it was a positive day for the Whitehall School District.
Whitehall High School jumped from a 99th ranking in the statewide rank in 2015, to 25th among the 166 Montana High Schools in 2016. The average ACT Composite score in Whitehall was 20.9, above the state average of 20.1. Whitehall ranked fourth among the 40 Montana Class B Schools.
"Moving up in the rankings to 25th of 166 high schools statewide is a significant accomplishment. Hardworking students and teachers need to take credit for the giant improvement," WHS Principal Hannah Nieskens said.
Nieskens said the ACT is the sole assessment for federal accountability purposes for Montana high schools. Nieskens added since 2013, every high school junior in Montana, college bound or not, has taken the ACT test.
Whitehall was above the state average in every subtest except for Math.
"This is a major improvement from the previous three years in which Whitehall students scored below the state average on every subtest," she said.
Whitehall students had their high average score in science with a 22.1. This ranked ninth in Montana. The state average was 20.3. Whitehall was 13th in reading with a score of 22.6, above the state average of 20.8. The scores in reading and science were the top among the Montana Class B Schools.
Nieskens said Class B schools are of similar enrollment size and generally provide a similar set of opportunities to students.
"Every size of district has its advantages and disadvantages, however similarly sized schools have a closer match regarding teacher quantity, enrollment, and funding, so the comparison is worthwhile to examine," she said.
WHS was 19th in writing with an average score of 20.0, well above the state average of 17.18. Whitehall was also above average in English, ranking 54th in the state with a 18.7 average. The high school was just below the state average (20.1) in math with a 19.9 average score.
"The scores reflect that there is great opportunity to get a high quality education at Whitehall Schools. The 2016 juniors have set a high bar for future Whitehall classes," Nieskens said.
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