RACINE - Fewer Racine Unified students took the ACT last school year, continuing a downward trend in the number of district students taking the college entrance exam, according to data released this week.

About 36 percent of Unified graduates took the exam during the 2006-07 school year, down 2 percent from the previous year. The number of students taking the exam has dropped every year for the past six years.

"(The low numbers) could point to students taking the courses, which would be college prep, and not thinking about the role of the ACT. It could be that there's not enough emphasis on getting ready for college," said Marguerite Vanden Wyngaard, Unified's chief academic officer. "I've heard from students who said they didn't know when to register. We need to go back and look back to see how students are getting ready for college."

State education officials this week touted what they called a record number of test-takers. The Department of Public Instruction praised the fact that 70 percent of Wisconsin's 2007 high school graduates took the ACT college admissions test during high school, and their average composite score was 22.3.

That percentage of test-takers includes private school

students.

Only 57 percent of Wisconsin public school students took the test, one of two college entrance exams, including the SAT. The average composite score for public school students was 22.2.

The district needs to do a better job of encouraging students to take the exam, which most colleges require, and preparing them for life after high school, Vanden Wyngaard said.

"I don't get a sense of urgency about college. If our students are electing to not take the ACT, there has to be a break down on what it means to be ready for college," Vanden Wyngaard said. "That's our responsibility to help them understand."

It's an ongoing issue that public school leaders are dealing with nationwide, especially in urban school districts, said Reggie Bates, a sub-school principal at Case High School.

"It's in the best interest of students to take the test, especially with No Child Left Behind," Bates said. "Even if we didn't have No Child Left Behind, we should be doing the best for every student."

Any effort to encourage more students to take the ACT will be part of the district's overall work transforming secondary education, which includes improving the district's graduation requirements and college preparation, said Vanden Wyngaard, who is new to her district position as chief academic officer.

A record 1.3 million high school graduates in the U.S. earned an average composite score of 21.2 on the college admission and placement exam, up from 20.8 in 2003 and from 21.1 last year.

Scores improved on all four required subject-area tests included in the exam - English, mathematics, reading and

science.

Each test is scored on a scale of 1 to 36. The composite score is the average of the four individual required test scores.

Three states, including Illinois, require students to take the ACT. Vanden Wyngaard said the district should do more to get more students to take it.

"I think it's important for more kids to be ready for college. If there is a measurement for readiness, right now, this is the key and you can't get into college without it," she said.

Case High School

525 - Grade 12 enrollment

212 - Students tested

40.4 - Percent tested

21.2 - Average score

Horlick High School

588 - Grade 12 enrollment

176 - Students tested

29.9 - Percent tested

21.5 - Average score

Park High School

649 - Grade 12 enrollment

241 - Students tested

37.1 - Percent tested

20.4 - Average score

Walden III High School

58 - Grade 12 enrollment

42 - Students tested

72.4 - Percent tested

23.9 - Average score

The REAL School

15 - Grade 12 enrollment

6 - Students tested

40 - Percent tested

22.3 - Average score

Racine Unified School District

1,881 - Grade 12 enrollment

677 - Students tested

36 - Percent tested

21.1 - Average composite score

State

70,079 - Grade 12 enrollment

39,947 - Students tested

57 - Percent tested

22.2 - Average composite score

Nation

3.1 million - Grade 12 enrollment

1.3 million - Students tested

42 - Percent tested

21.2 - Average composite score

Source:

The Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction and ACT Inc.