Utah students are scoring above the national average on ACT exams but gaps still persist between boys and girls and whites and minority students.

Seventy percent of Utah's class of 2007 took the ACT college entrance exam with the same average composite score — 21.7 — as the class of 2006. That's a half point higher than the national average composite score, according to the ACT High School Profile Report released Tuesday.

"We see this as good news and we look forward to better news in the future," said State Superintendent of Public Instruction Patti Harrington.

She said students who prepared themselves for college by taking four years of English and three years each of math, science and social science scored an average of 22.5 on the exam, again a half point higher than the national average for similarly prepared students.

About 45 percent of Utah students who took the ACT prepared themselves with this type of course work or more, while nationally about 51 percent of test takers did.

But new, more rigid requirements imposed by the State Board of Education will only help improve the scores of students who choose to take a more rigorous course, according to McKell Withers, superintendent of Salt Lake City.

"It's not about number of core credits but quality and level of class and the effort that you put into those classes," he said.

If students take an additional course that is more rigorous and helps them stretch academically then that is going to help them. But if they take additional courses that are basically at the same level or less than they took earlier, with the attitude that they just want to get it over with, then it won't help.

He said one of the keys in increasing ACT scores and closing ethnic and gender achievement gaps is getting students to take more rigorous college-preparation classes.

White students continue to out-score minority students both in Utah and the nation. And boys tend to out-score girls on the math and science portions of the test while girls out-score boys on the English and reading portions.

Withers said it's all about setting high expectations for all students and planting that seed early with the goal of going to college.

"We're trying to talk about college with students and parents in kindergarten — letting them know that it is a K-16 goal and we want the kids to be prepared to go on to college ... you're not done with school when you graduate high school," Withers said.

Salt Lake School District, where 51 percent of students are minorities, has also established programs in the middle schools and high schools through partnerships that provide students with scholarships if they get on the college-prep track.

"The message is take advanced classes because they are good for you — they're not painful, they open doors for you — and they are in your best interest," Withers said.

"We encourage all students to take a rigorous path in high school, not only to boost their ACT scores, but more importantly, to prepare themselves for college and for life," Harrington said.

Leaders say the Math Engineering and Science Achievement program (MESA) has also made some headway in getting more females and minorities to take more rigorous math and science classes and helping them score higher on college entrance exams.

---

E-mail: terickson@desnews.com