Can anyone tell me how to find the local area average ACT Explore scores? The gifted middle school coordinator called and mentioned they don't look at the national percentiles but instead the look at the local area scores for those tests for placement into programs. She cited how as "75th percentile national score is only 40th percentile in our area." But I don't have access to those type of files. Is there a site??
It's addressed here on page 3 and starts off:
If your school or district requested local comparisons...
Since the school uses local comparisons, the school is supposed to give you the information if you ask for it (FERPA).
P.S. You could also try sending a request to ACT asking for mean and standard deviation for your local area. They may not give you the info unless you're a "professional educator or administrator."
http://www.act.org/epas/reply.html
Most high schools have either/both the ACT or SAT averages by year available on their web-site.
Something else to consider, and it may depend on whether you live in the Midwest versus a coast, is what percentage of students took a particular test. I think a general rule of thumb is that most high school students take the predominant test for their area, but the higher scoring kids tend to take the predominant test and the secondary test for the area which could skew results for the less usual one.