Rio Rancho HS Students Score on ACT

Percentage of RRHS Seniors Taking the ACT Jumps by Nearly 20%!

Composite scores for members of the Rio Rancho High School Class of 2008 who took the ACT college entrance exam continue to exceed state and national averages. The 21.5 composite score for students graduating last May ties last year’s score, which was the highest in the school’s history. RRHS composite scores exceed both the state average of 20.2 and the national average composite score of 21.2. View the graph here.

The district is especially pleased that a very high percentage of RRHS students are taking the ACT. Seventy-three percent of the Class of 2008 -- 582 seniors --took the ACT, a 19.8% increase over the 467 students who took the exam the previous year. This is well in excess of the 8% enrollment growth at RRHS in 2007-08 and is indicative of strong student interest in pursuing higher education opportunities. Participation rates also increased in New Mexico and nationally, but at more modest rates (NM - 8.5%, nation - 2.4%).

The average scores in the four subject areas tested -- English, math, reading, and science -- continue to exceed the state average all areas, and the national average in all subject areas but math. RRHS average composite scores on the math portion of the ACT have increased steadily over the past five years and are now approaching the national average. RRHS has recently changed its class schedules so that students will now take the core courses -- mathematics, science, English, and social studies -- year round for all four years of high school. The district hopes this will help students learn more effectively and better retain what they have learned.

The percent of Rio Rancho HS students meeting or surpassing ACT’s College Readiness Benchmarks also continues to exceed the state averages in all four subject areas by a substantial margin. In three of the subject areas -- College Biology, College Social Science, and College English Composition, RRHS students exceeded the national average as well.

“The steady upward trend in ACT scores is good news,” says RRHS Principal Richard VonAncken. “But the results are also reminders of just how far we have to go in assuring that every Rio Rancho student leaves school prepared to succeed in college or the workplace.”

Some 74% of RRHS students met or surpassed the college English composition benchmark on the ACT, and 60% met or surpassed the college social science benchmark. Thirty-nine percent met the college algebra benchmark, and 31% the college biology benchmark. Twenty-four per cent of students met all four benchmarks -- exceeding both the state and national average.

Rio Rancho High School and district planners use the ACT data, along with information from other tests such as the New Mexico Standards-Based Assessment, to determine where students are doing well and where changes in curriculum or teaching techniques might help students.

The ACT is a curriculum-based achievement test designed to measure the skills and knowledge taught in school and deemed important for first-year college students to possess. The ACT is widely accepted by colleges and universities in New Mexico and all major colleges and universities across the nation. The other major college entrance test, the SAT, is taken by fewer New Mexico students.

View complete district information on AYP and school academic performance.