Most Flathead Valley high schools are doing better or comparable to the rest of the state in the percentage of 2015 graduates who are college-ready, according to ACT results.

The ACT is a college entrance exam historically taken by college-bound juniors and seniors who paid fees for the test.

In 2013, however, the ACT was offered to all Montana juniors free cost as an initiative of the Office of Public Instruction.

While the ACT-for-all initiative began in 2013, this is only Montana’s second graduating class where all students took the ACT exam.

Montana is one of 13 states that tests juniors free. Over time, states have found that more boys, minority students, middle and lower-income students and first-generation students took the ACT and had the ability to assess their college readiness and enroll in college and apply for scholarships.

Average ACT scores have declined from 2011 to 2015.

Area administrators along with the Office of Public Instruction Superintendent Denise Juneau anticipated a decrease with more students testing from a broader range of backgrounds — not just those who are college-bound.

“Over the last five years, Montana has gone from testing just over 6,000 students to nearly 9,500,” Juneau said in a press release. “By offering the ACT to all high school juniors free of cost, that will continue to open doors for college and career opportunities.”

The achievement test quizzes juniors and seniors on four subjects: English, math, reading and science. Scores indicate success in corresponding first-year college-level courses — English composition, algebra, social science and biology.

A set benchmark in each subject reflects the minimum score needed to “indicate a 50 percent chance of getting a ‘B’ or higher or about a 75 percent chance of obtaining a ‘C’ or higher” according to www.act.org.

About 24 percent of the 9,489 students tested in Montana’s 2015 graduating class met all four benchmarks.

Results show 57 percent of Montana graduating seniors are prepared for college-level courses in English, 41 percent in algebra, 44 percent in social science and 36 percent in biology.

Of the Flathead Valley’s large high schools, Glacier High School’s 2015 graduating class did slightly better than the state in meeting all four benchmarks. Out of the 256 students tested, 27 percent met or surpassed all four benchmarks.

Glacier student scores also were slightly above state results in individual subjects. Sixty percent of student scores met the English benchmark. Forty-six percent of students showed they were ready for college-level social science. Forty-three percent of scores indicated college readiness in algebra and 39 percent in biology.

Flathead High School fell just below the state with 23 percent of 311 test-takers meeting all benchmarks.

Flathead’s 2015 graduating class also did well in English with 61 percent meeting the benchmark. Flathead students were slightly above the state when it comes to college-level algebra readiness and below the state in college-level social science. Forty-two percent of student scores indicated readiness for college-level algebra and social science courses. Thirty-six percent showed readiness for college-level biology, representative of the state result.

Columbia Falls High School had 132 students from the class of 2015 take the test with 17 percent meeting all four benchmarks.

The percentage of students ready for college-level courses fell below the state average in each subject. Thirty-eight percent of ACT-tested students indicate readiness in English; 32 percent in social science; 23 percent in biology and 23 percent in algebra.

Smaller high schools such as Bigfork and Whitefish had previous experience testing juniors when they piloted the ACT-for-all initiative in 2012.

Whitefish surpassed the state in meeting all four benchmarks. Of the 97 students tested, 37 percent met all the benchmarks.

Sixty percent of the Whitefish class of 2015 met the English benchmark. In other subjects, 51 percent showed college readiness for algebra; 49 percent for social science and 44 percent for biology.

Bigfork tested the smallest number of students — 60. Of the group, 17 percent met standards in all four subjects.

Sixty-two percent of test-takers met the English benchmark, surpassing the state, although they fell below the state in the other subjects. Forty percent indicated readiness for college-level social science and 33 percent for algebra and biology.

Schools and students also received composite scores. A composite score takes into account the average scores in each subject. Individual subject-area scores and the composite are measured on a 1 (lowest) to 36 (highest) scale.

More than 36 percent of the class of 2015 scored 22 or better, qualifying those students for admission into the Montana University System. Nearly 50 percent scored a 20 or better, which qualifies them for the governor’s “Best and Brightest” scholarship.

Montana ranked fourth out of 13 states that test all juniors with a state average composite score of 20.4 — a slight decrease from the 2014 average composite score of 20.5. The national average was 21, but includes states where the test is optional.

Glacier High School’s 2015 graduating class scored slightly above the state average composite score with 20.6. The score is an improvement from the 2014 graduating class that achieved 20.1.

Flathead High School’s average composite scores remained flat from the 2014 and 2015 graduating classes at 20.3. The number of test takers remained stable, increasing by one student. In 2012, Flathead’s composite was 23.7 with 107 taking the ACT.

Columbia Falls’ average composite score for the class of 2015 was 18.4, a decrease from 2014’s composite of 18.8.

The average composite score of the Whitefish 2015 graduating class was 20.8, a decrease from the 2014 graduating classes score of 21.8.

Bigfork’s class of 2015 had an average composite score of 20.1 falling below the state score. This is a decrease from the 2014 graduating class score of 21.4. Seven more graduates were tested in the 2015 class.

Reporter Hilary Matheson may be reached at 758-4431 or by email at hmatheson@dailyinterlake.com.