OKALOOSA COUNTY SCHOOL DISTRICT TAKE TOPS IN ACT SCORES

We have done it again. Our schools continue to be another great reason for folks to move to our area. Great job by all for their efforts and the support given by the community. Without this team effort, the children would not be succeeding. BRAVO ZULU.

Okaloosa tops ACT scores
By KATIE TAMMEN
Northwest Florida Daily News 315-4440 ktammen@nwfdailynews.com   Okaloosa County students again have earned the highest scores in Florida on the ACT. Seniors from the class of 2011 earned a composite score of 22.7, which was about three points higher than the state average, according to information from the Florida Department of Education. “We’re ahead in everything,” said Superintendent of Schools Alexis Tibbetts. “It says that our students are well prepared (for college).” Students in Santa Rosa and Walton counties also earned composite scores above the state average. However, Florida was tied with Kentucky near the bottom in the nation for its overall score. Only Mississippi and Tennessee had lower composite scores, and 100 percent of students in each of those other states took the test. Only about 66 percent of Florida students took the test. Local educators said the state’s low composite score is not reflective of local education trends. “We’re the best of the best in Florida and that means our county is competitive (in the nation),” Tibbetts said. The test, which is not mandatory for Florida students, is a cumulative college entrance exam. It is divided into four sections — English, reading, math and science — that measure a students’ readiness for college, said Steve McLaughlin, who oversees the test results for Okaloosa County schools. In Okaloosa, which sees about 60 percent of each senior class go to college, 57.7 percent of seniors took the test. McLaughlin said that paints a fairly accurate snapshot of the district. “I would say it’s very reflective,” he said. “It’s a big mirror of the community.” More than 60 percent of students in both Santa Rosa and Walton counties also took the test. Santa Rosa’s composite score remained mostly unchanged, increasing by one-tenth of a point. Walton County, which is a significantly smaller school district, saw a slight dip in all areas. “We’re not super discouraged by it and we’re hoping to ramp everything up,” said David Jeselnik, coordinator of school improvement and accountability for the Walton school district. The slight drop in the score was a first in several years for the district, and officials haven’t had enough time yet to identify what happened, he said. In the meantime, to help increase not only test scores but student preparedness for college, the school district has begun bringing more Advanced Placement courses into the high schools. In the past, it has focused more on dual-enrollment courses not only because of the costs associated with AP courses, but also because it’s what students and their parents were interested in. “For a small school district we’ve really stepped up to do this in a big way,” Jeselnik said. “And we’re hoping to see the results soon.”