WATERLOO - ACT scores rose slightly in Waterloo's public high schools while just barely dipping in Cedar Falls.

Waterloo's 2009 graduates who took the college-entrance exam earned an average composite score of 20.5, up from 20.3 last year. Cedar Falls' 2009 graduates earned a composite score of 23.7, down 0.1 from last year.

The Iowa City-based ACT testing service released national and state data Wednesday for nearly 1.5 million 2009 graduates who took the exam across the country. Waterloo still lags behind the statewide average composite score of 22.4 while Cedar Falls remains above it. Iowa's score ranked it second in the nation behind Minnesota's 22.7 for states where the majority of graduating seniors take the ACT. The highest possible score on the test is 36.

Officials from both the Waterloo and Cedar Falls school districts were happy with the reports they received.

"On something like ACT, a slight increase is significant," said Jane Lindaman, Waterloo Community Schools' director of results and learning. She noted that scores went down by 0.3 on mathematics but were up on the other three subject tests, including by 0.7 in reading.

"We were very pleased with our scores," said Dan Conrad, Cedar Falls Community Schools' secondary education director. "This was the second highest composite average that we've had. That in itself was very pleasing to us."

In addition, he noted, the score on the reading portion hit a record 24.3. He said that was the "first time any of our sub-tests went over 24."

A total of 282 2009 Waterloo graduates took the test, or just under 42 percent. A total of 206 2009 Cedar Falls graduates took the test, or 62 percent.

"It's one of those things that we'd like to see, more of our kids completing the ACT," said Conrad. "It's another good tool we can use to see where our students are."

However, some students don't need to take the test to get into their college program. "What we're finding is that a growing number of our students are actually enrolling at Hawkeye (Community College)," said Conrad. Students need to take the Compass test rather than the ACT for admission.

Based on individual test scores, ACT also calculates who is ready for college courses in English, algebra, social studies and biology. Students who were tested and met all four benchmarks included 35 percent in Cedar Falls and 15 percent in Waterloo.

Lindaman noted the district recently raised graduation requirements to match what is specified in the Iowa core curriculum: four English classes and three math, science, and social studies classes. The district's "constant goal" is increasing the percentage of students taking core classes.

"We know if they take the core, they definitely do better," said Lindaman. "That's always a goal for us, making sure that students are taking rigorous classes."

Conrad said Cedar Falls is also looking at the rigor of its courses, because the percentages of those ready for college are "not as high as we'd like them to be."

He added, "We're still higher than most other schools. But, again, as we compare ourselves to ourselves, that's something that we want to address."See ACT, page A2