St. Mary ACT scores match last year's

St. Mary Parish had an identical ACT score average among the Class of 2020 test takers as a year ago, with the average score totaling 18.3.
According to data released by the Louisiana Department of Education recently, 565 seniors took the test in 2020 in St. Mary Parish schools.
“While the school district seeks to continually improve its ACT average given the role that the test plays in qualifying high school graduates for post-secondary acceptance and scholarships, including the state’s TOPS award, this year’s class was certainly impacted by the closure of schools in March,” St. Mary Parish Schools Superintendent Teresa Bagwell said of the COVID-19 pandemic that forced in-person learning to come to a halt in mid-March. “A summer test session was offered for high school seniors to make up for the cancelled spring testing date. However, the number of students who participated was less than 25 districtwide.”
Among Class of 2020 test takers at individual schools, Berwick had the highest average score at 20.4, while Patterson had the second-best at 18.5. The rest of the parish schools in order of their rank were as follows: Morgan City, 18; Centerville, 17.4; Franklin, 17.3; and West St. Mary, 16.7.
Statewide, Louisiana’s Class of 2020 earned an average ACT Composite score of 18.7, an all-time low since the state granted all students access to the test in 2013, the Louisiana Department of Education reported.
This is the third consecutive year Louisiana’s ACT Composite score has decreased. The state earned a 19.6 in 2016-17 before seeing declines to 19.3 in 2017-18 and 18.9 in 2018-19.
The average Composite score also declined among Students with Disabilities (14.8 in 2019 to 14.4 in 2020), Economically Disadvantaged (17.3 in 2019 to 17.1 in 2020) and English Learners (14.6 in 2019 to 14.2 in 2020).
“Our Louisiana students are as talented as any across the country,” state Superintendent of Education Cade Brumley said in a news release. “This continued decline in scores should trigger our thinking about flipping this trajectory. When students score higher, they open additional doors of opportunities for themselves and their families.”
The number of seniors earning a college-going ACT score dipped for the third consecutive year. Fifty-two percent of seniors in the Class of 2020 earned an 18 or better. That’s compared to 54% in 2019 and 59% in 2018. Students earning a 21 or better dropped to 32%. That number was 33% in 2019 and 36% in 2018.
The Class of 2020 Louisiana report includes over 53,000 students.
Bagwell said St. Mary Parish schools use multiple practice ACT testing materials and online test prep to help the district’s students. She said the district’s students also take a pre-ACT that helps with scheduling proper course work and placement.
This past year, students could attend an ACT prep workshop offered through a partnership with the school system and the local Rotary Club, too.
“Overall, the most effective form of preparation for ACT is completion of college-preparatory coursework that was also interrupted in the 2020 spring semester,” Bagwell said.