Blue & 22
Henderson County High School
WHAT does BLUE & 22 - IT STARTS WITH YOU mean?
Kentucky’s accountability system is color-coded so that the highest achieving schools are designated “BLUE.” Our mission is to be the BEST high school in Kentucky, and so being BLUE is part of that mission. KSAs in Reading, Math, Social Studies, Science, and Writing measure academic skills necessary for your success in the workplace and in post-secondary institutions.
Post-secondary institutions make decisions about placement based on the ACT. Students who score a 22 or better on the ACT math or reading tests won’t need to worry about getting placed in remedial math and English classes when they start college. This is important because even though the post-secondary institution (college, trade school, etc.) requires students to take these classes, and even though they cost the same as any other course, they are zero credit courses. This means students and/or parents are paying for courses that are not credited toward a degree or certificate.
Whether you’re planning to start work or you’re planning to continue your education after high school, you need a certain set of skills and dispositions to succeed. This year, we’ve added a focus on employability skills in our CTE courses, and we’ve implemented a school-wide character education curriculum for the purpose of helping you acquire and refine the skills and attitudes employers and post-secondary institutions say they’re looking for in applicants.
WHY does “22 and Beyond” matter to me?
HOW does HCHS help me meet my career and/or post-secondary goals?
The tests you take in your classes are designed to prepare you for success on the KSA and ACT. You have access to additional help through our CHEERS program before or after school. At least twice each year, you will take the MAP (9th and 10th) or Cambridge (11th) tests to provide you and your teachers information about whether or not you’re on track to make a 22 on the ACT reading or math tests. We provide interventions for students who are not quite there yet. We train and assess you on employability skills in your CTE classes, and we provide character education to you. These are only a few of the many ways we help you meet your post-secondary goals.
WHAT are my responsibilities toward attaining my goals?
As a Colonel, commit to demonstrating good character. Colonels are committed to showing we care by having the confidence in ourselves to show everyone - even people we may not like or who are different than we are - RESPECT.
As a Colonel, commit to success by putting in the work. Colonels are committed to being here. Colonels care about our individual and collective success, and we are confident that our persistence and effort will help us meet our goals.
Scoring a minimum of 22 improves your chances of admission to these regional universities. In order to have the best chance of success at a college or university, you should aim for a minimum ACT composite that is equal to or greater than the average composite of students admitted to that school. In order to compete for scholarships, you must meet the minimum ACT score requirement established by a college or university.
What if I plan to enter the workforce, join the military, or go to a technical/trade school after high school?
Students who meet all four ACT College Readiness Benchmarks are more likely to have early career success. Academic preparation can better position individuals to make career choices that are suited to their skills and interests. Skills developed in English, mathematics, reading, and science and the skills used in occupations are one in the same. Employers look for applicants with strong communication and critical thinking skills. Meeting ACT benchmarks serves as evidence a student has these skills.
What the ACT Measures
The ACT contains four multiple-choice tests—English, mathematics, reading, and science—and an optional writing test. These tests are designed to measure skills that are most important for success in postsecondary education and that are acquired in secondary education. The score range for each of the four multiple-choice tests is 1–36. The Composite score is the average of the four test scores rounded to the nearest whole number.
The ACT English test puts an examinee in the position of a writer who makes decisions to revise and edit a text. Short texts and essays in different genres provide a variety of rhetorical situations. Passages are chosen for their appropriateness in assessing writing and language skills and to reflect students’ interests and experiences.
The ACT mathematics test assesses the skills students typically acquire in courses taken through grade 11. The material covered on the test emphasizes the major content areas that are prerequisites to successful performance in entry-level courses in college mathematics. Knowledge of basic formulas and computational skills are assumed as background for the problems but recall of complex formulas and extensive computation are not required.
The ACT reading test measures the ability to read closely, reason logically about texts using evidence, and integrate information from multiple sources. The test questions focus on the mutually supportive skills that readers must bring to bear in studying written materials across a range of subject areas. Specifically, questions will ask you to determine main ideas; locate and interpret significant details; understand sequences of events; make comparisons; comprehend cause-effect relationships; determine the meaning of context-dependent words, phrases, and statements; draw generalizations; analyze the author’s or narrator’s voice and method; analyze claims and evidence in arguments; and integrate information from multiple texts.
The ACT science test measures the interpretation, analysis, evaluation, reasoning, and problem-solving skills required in the natural sciences. The test presents several authentic scientific scenarios, each followed by a number of multiple-choice test questions. The content of the test includes biology, chemistry, Earth/space sciences (e.g., geology, astronomy, and meteorology), and physics. The questions require you to recognize and understand the basic features of, and concepts related to, the provided information; to examine critically the relationship between the information provided and the conclusions drawn or hypotheses developed; and to generalize from given information to gain new information, draw conclusions, or make predictions.
From ACT.org
What are the ACT College Readiness Benchmarks?
The ACT College Readiness Benchmarks are the minimum ACT test scores required for students to have a reasonable chance of success in first-year credit-bearing college courses at the typical college. There are Benchmarks for six ACT test scores, and each Benchmark is linked to success in a different college course or set of courses (Table 1). Students who do not meet benchmarks may be admitted to a college or university, but they will be enrolled in remedial courses in that subject area. These courses cost the same as any other course, however, students do not earn credit for these courses. In other words, not making a 22 or better on a math or reading test will cost you money.
Measuring Growth toward College Readiness:
Using MAP (Measures of Academic Progress) Scores to Predict Success on the ACT Test Benchmark Scores
