More Warsaw students are taking the ACT and SAT, and Warsaw Community Schools is making some changes to its curriculum for the 2011-12 school year.
Tom Kline, WCS chief accountability officer, gave the school board Monday night a report on the ACT and SAT. He said both tests are tests students have to take if they want to go to college.
The ACT is a national college admissions examination that consists of subject area tests in English, mathematics, reading and science.
In 2008, 34 students took the ACT. That increased to 50 in 2009, and 61 in 2010.
The ACT English mean for Warsaw in 2010 was 23.1, compared to 21.7 for Indiana. Warsaw's score was down slightly from 24 in 2009, but up compared to 20.6 in 2008.
The ACT mathematics mean for Warsaw was 24.5 in 2010, compared to 22.4 for Indiana's. Warsaw's score was up from 24.1 in 2009 and 22.9 in 2008.
In 2008, Warsaw's ACT reading mean was 22, which increased to 24 in 2009, but dropped slightly to 23.5 in 2010. Indiana's was 22.6 in 2010.
Indiana's ACT science mean score was 21.5 in 2008, compared to Warsaw's 21.1. Warsaw's increased to 23.4 in 2009, while the state's score only increased to 21.6. Warsaw's score was 23 in 2010, while Indiana's remained at 21.6.
The ACT composite score for Warsaw was 23.7 in 2010; 24.2 in 2009; and 21.7 in 2008. Indiana's was 22.3 in 2010; and 22 in 2009 and 2010.
The SAT is a tool designed to assess a student's academic readiness for college. The SAT tests critical reading, writing and mathematics.
"This year saw an increase in this and ACT," Kline said.
One reason for the increase is that the state is paying for free and reduced lunch students to take the SAT.
In 2006, 272 Warsaw students took the SAT. That dropped to 248 in 2007; increased to 266 in 2008; dropped to 251 in 2009; and increased to 269 in 2010.
Though more Warsaw students took the SAT, scores have dropped slightly.
In 2009, the SAT critical reading mean score was 502 for Warsaw, but that dropped to 493 in 2010. The score also was one point less than the state's and eight points less than the national average.
In 2009, the SAT math mean was 516, which dropped to 506 in 2010. That is one point more than Indiana's mean, but 10 points less than the national average.
Warsaw's SAT writing mean dropped from 486 in 2009 to 473 in 2010. That is four points less than Indiana's mean and 19 points less than the national average.
Kline said the concern is the writing score because it has dropped and is below the state and national score. He said Warsaw has started an initiative to bring students' writing scores up.
For 2010, Warsaw's SAT reading, math and writing composite was 1472. Indiana's was 1476, and the national average was 1509.
Director of Special Services Deb Blatz presented the curriculum changes for the middle schools and high school. The changes were approved by the school board.
For high school math, the curriculum will bring back pre-algebra and offer a second calculus class, AP Calculus BC. Students will be able to take an AP Economics class in social studies.
Under English, movie classes will be offered as well as a class about careers. The classes include Classroom to Careers, English 12 CP, Film Literature 1 & 2 and The "Big Picture" View, which will focus on film as complex art.
World language additions will include Spanish for Heritage Speakers, AP Spanish V and Chinese I.
Art Studio Art will be added under art. Under performing arts, additional offers will include dance choreography, dance performance, dance history and appreciation and musical theater.
A physical education III will be offered, while physics II will be eliminated because of a lack of interest by students.
At the Warsaw Area Career Center, Blatz said a couple of classes will be combined into a Personal Finance Responsibility class. FACS: Preparing for College and Careers is a title change to the course.
At the middle school, languages of Mandarin Chinese, Spanish and French will be offered. Students also will be able to choose advanced art, personalized physical education or CTE: Exploration of College and Careers.
Blatz said the course changes will be communicated to students and their parents. The final determination of the courses offered in the 2011-12 school year will be based upon student selection and budgetary capacity, Blatz said.
As for staffing, Blatz said some of these classes will require shifts in staffing, not necessarily additional staffing.
Superintendent Dr. Craig Hintz said the new courses will go into the curriculum guide for next week. By early 2011, Warsaw will have tallies of the number of students interested in the classes, then the school corporation can see what it can offer and what is possible.
"We're excited about the possibilities," Hintz said.
