The SAT isn’t the only game in town. As most people know, students can also take the ACT to fulfill their examination requirement for college applications. While 57.4% of students in LAUSD and LAUSD charters take the SAT, only 27% take the ACT.
But just like the SAT, the ACT participation rate is higher in charter schools than traditional schools.
42.5% of charter schools students in Los Angeles took the ACT in 2015-16. That is almost double the percent that took the test in traditional schools. Similar to the SAT, affiliated charters and alternative schools had lower and much lower participation rates.
Just like last time, there were several schools that had clearly made a concerted effort to get high participation rates. This time, however, the top participating schools were all charter schools. In fact, out of the top 27 schools, only one was a traditional school – Cesar Chavez ArTES Magnet in San Fernando.
These schools had 100% (or very close)participation in the ACT:
- USC Hybrid High
- Aspire Pacific Academy
- Alliance Collins Family College-Ready High
- Alliance Judy Ivie Burton Technology Academy High
- Alliance Patti and Peter Neuwirth Leadership Academy
- Alliance Gertz-Ressler Richard Merkin 6-12 Complex
- Alliance Ouchi O’Donovan 6-12 Complex
Notice anything? I notice two things:
Obviously, there is the fact that Alliance has clearly made a network-wide effort to get students to take the ACT. And it seems to be paying off. They have extraordinarily high UC acceptance rates. In fact, Alliance’s charter-wide ACT participation rate is around 80%. Without Alliance, independent charter participation drops to 34%.
I also notice this: With one exception, all of those schools also have incredibly high SAT participation rates. These schools are getting almost 100% of the students to take both the SAT and the ACT.
The one exception to that rule is USC Hybrid High – they have 100% of their students taking the ACT but only 15% taking the SAT. USC Hybrid High is making a conscious decision to have their students take the ACT over the SAT. Along with Cesar Chavez ArTES, they were the only two schools that seem to have chosen to do this. And it seems to have paid off. Both have above average UC acceptance rates.
This gets me to my next question – if a school has high ACT or SAT participation rates, does that correlate with high UC acceptance rates? More on that next time…
Until then, you can search your school’s ACT participation rates below (only from the website):
|
School Name
|
ACt Participation Rate
|
|---|---|
| High Tech LA | 35.00% |
| Wallis Annenberg High | 0.00% |
| North Valley Military Institute College Preparator | 30.43% |
| Central City Value | 24.79% |
| View Park Preparatory Accelerated High | 0.00% |
| William J. Johnston Community Day | 3.33% |
| Crenshaw Arts-Technology Charter High | 39.39% |
| Oscar De La Hoya Animo Charter High | 56.08% |
| Renaissance Arts Academy | 83.33% |
| Animo South Los Angeles Charter | 50.34% |
| New Designs Charter | 97.40% |
| Middle College High | 28.97% |
| Harbor Teacher Preparation Academy | 48.91% |
| Ivy Academia | 8.33% |
| Camino Nuevo Charter High | 67.65% |
| Animo Venice Charter High | 75.59% |
| Animo Pat Brown | 98.63% |
| Alliance Gertz-Ressler Richard Merkin 6-12 Complex | 99.18% |
| Orthopaedic Hospital | 24.32% |
| Northridge Academy High | 14.42% |
| International Studies Learning Center at Legacy Hi | 17.43% |
| Port of Los Angeles High | 32.27% |
| CHAMPS - Charter HS of Arts-Multimedia & Performin | 37.89% |
| Alliance Judy Ivie Burton Technology Academy High | 100.75% |
| Larchmont Charter | 0.00% |
| Alliance Collins Family College-Ready High | 103.42% |
| Pacific Boulevard | 0.00% |
| Santee Education Complex | 11.95% |
| South East High | 29.89% |
| Maywood Academy High | 25.45% |
| Los Angeles Academy of Arts & Enterprise Charter | 71.43% |
| New Village Girls Academy | 25.93% |
| Alliance Patti And Peter Neuwirth Leadership Acade | 100.00% |
| Alliance Dr. Olga Mohan High | 97.14% |
| Animo Ralph Bunche Charter High | 9.93% |
| Animo Jackie Robinson High | 32.45% |
| Animo Watts College Preparatory Academy | 27.59% |
| Alliance Ouchi-O'Donovan 6-12 Complex | 99.18% |
| Alliance Marc & Eva Stern Math and Science | 23.81% |
| School of Business and Tourism at Contreras Learni | 34.86% |
| East Valley Senior High | 2.16% |
| Arleta High | 11.18% |
| Panorama High | 29.87% |
| Bright Star Secondary Charter Academy | 17.86% |
| Student Empowerment Academy | 34.78% |
| Contreras Learning Center-Los Angeles School of Gl | 8.89% |
| West Adams Preparatory High | 13.70% |
| Magnolia Science Academy 3 | 2.94% |
| Magnolia Science Academy 2 | 33.33% |
| Discovery Charter Preparatory #2 | 18.64% |
| Alliance Morgan McKinzie High | 79.37% |
| Edward R. Roybal Learning Center | 32.16% |
| Helen Bernstein High | 45.00% |
| APEX Academy | 23.53% |
| Alliance Health Services Academy High | 82.65% |
| Alliance Leichtman-Levine Family Foundation Enviro | 95.83% |
| Magnolia Science Academy 4 | 23.81% |
| Contreras Learning Center-Academic Leadership Comm | 42.05% |
| RFK Community Schools-Los Angeles High School of t | 14.12% |
| Los Angeles Teacher Preparatory Academy | 36.11% |
| RFK Community Schools-for the Visual Arts and Huma | 33.33% |
| New Millennium Secondary | 4.65% |
| Alain Leroy Locke College Preparatory Academy | 26.00% |
| Sun Valley High | 20.22% |
| RFK Community Schools-New Open World Academy K-12 | 61.11% |
| RFK Community Schools-UCLA Community K-12 | 46.36% |
| Ramon C. Cortines School of Visual and Performing | 35.18% |
| Felicitas and Gonzalo Mendez High | 28.92% |
| New Designs Charter School-Watts | 35.71% |
| Daniel Pearl Journalism & Communications Magnet | 30.11% |
| RFK Community Schools-Ambassador-Global Leadership | 27.85% |
| Alliance Cindy and Bill Simon Technology Academy H | 21.80% |
| Alliance Tennenbaum Family Technology High | 71.21% |
| Environmental and Social Policy Magnet | 45.65% |
| Math, Science, & Technology Magnet Academy at Roos | 38.78% |
| Esteban Torres East LA Performing Arts Magnet | 30.00% |
| Humanitas Academy of Art and Technology at Esteban | 17.33% |
| Social Justice Leadership Academy at Esteban E. To | 30.59% |
| East Los Angeles Renaissance Academy at Esteban E. | 36.49% |
| Engineering and Technology Academy at Esteban E. T | 12.66% |
| PUC Lakeview Charter High | 97.39% |
| Aspire Pacific Academy | 104.17% |
| Alliance Susan and Eric Smidt Technology High | 86.36% |
| Alliance College-Ready Academy High 16 | 73.91% |
| Valley Academy of Arts and Sciences | 14.24% |
| Cesar E. Chavez Learning Academy - Arts/Theatre/En | 85.83% |
| Cesar E. Chavez Learning Academies-Social Justice | 36.97% |
| Cesar E. Chavez Learning Academies-Academy of Scie | 22.22% |
| Cesar E. Chavez Learning Academies-Teacher Prepara | 19.13% |
| Los Angeles River at Sonia Sotomayor Learning Acad | 7.50% |
| School of History and Dramatic Arts at Sonia Sotom | 19.10% |
| Dr. Maya Angelou Community High | 14.50% |
| Public Service Community at Diego Rivera Learning | 9.52% |
| Communication and Technology at Diego Rivera Learn | 17.14% |
| Green Design at Diego Rivera Learning Complex | 18.07% |
| Performing Arts Community at Diego Rivera Learning | 17.46% |
| Rancho Dominguez Preparatory | 26.03% |
| Synergy Quantum Academy | 38.14% |
| Animo College Preparatory Academy | 7.62% |
| Alliance Renee and Meyer Luskin Academy High | 96.88% |
| PUC Early College Academy for Leaders and Scholars | 75.47% |
| USC Hybrid High | 113.48% |
| STEM Academy at Bernstein High | 47.48% |
| Academy of Science and Engineering | 31.88% |
| Hilda L. Solis Learning Academy School of Technolo | 22.37% |
| Augustus F. Hawkins High A Critical Design and Gam | 63.38% |
| Augustus F. Hawkins High B Community Health Advoca | 63.01% |
| Augustus F. Hawkins High C Responsible Indigenous | 25.00% |
| Linda Esperanza Marquez High A Huntington Park Ins | 19.72% |
| Linda Esperanza Marquez High B LIBRA Academy | 25.97% |
| Linda Esperanza Marquez High C School of Social Ju | 21.30% |
| Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathema | 18.75% |
| Visual and Performing Arts at Legacy High School C | 8.70% |
| Academy for Multilingual Arts and Science at Mervy | 4.72% |
| Academies of Education and Empowerment at Carson H | 27.59% |
| Academy of Medical Arts at Carson High | 40.50% |
| Humanities and Arts (HARTS) Academy of Los Angeles | 14.81% |
| Contreras Learning Center-School of Social Justice | 61.17% |
| Early College Academy-LA Trade Tech College | 1.98% |
| Camino Nuevo High No. 2 | 87.83% |
| Sylmar Biotech Health Academy | 0.00% |
| PUC Triumph Charter Academy and PUC Triumph Charte | 80.00% |
| PUC CALS Middle and Early College High | 0.00% |
| William Tell Aggeler Opportunity High | 0.00% |
| View Park Continuation | 5.56% |
| Harold McAlister High (Opportunity) | 0.00% |
| Phineas Banning Senior High | 22.66% |
| Thomas Riley High | 3.23% |
| Phoenix Continuation | 3.13% |
| Bell Senior High | 46.86% |
| Belmont Senior High | 40.11% |
| Birmingham Community Charter High | 14.82% |
| Canoga Park Senior High | 26.16% |
| Mission Continuation | 6.67% |
| Carson Senior High | 24.31% |
| Chatsworth Charter High | 9.07% |
| Valley Alternative Magnet | 6.38% |
| Grover Cleveland Charter High | 19.16% |
| Crenshaw Science, Technology, Engineering, Math an | 13.51% |
| Susan Miller Dorsey Senior High | 22.13% |
| Eagle Rock High | 23.44% |
| El Camino Real Charter High | 23.85% |
| Los Angeles Center for Enriched Studies | 58.90% |
| Downtown Business High | 54.71% |
| John H. Francis Polytechnic | 10.37% |
| King/Drew Medical Magnet High | 57.93% |
| Benjamin Franklin Senior High | 33.77% |
| John C. Fremont Senior High | 4.53% |
| Sherman Oaks Center for Enriched Studies | 34.82% |
| Gardena Senior High | 16.28% |
| James A. Garfield Senior High | 49.55% |
| Granada Hills Charter High | 25.44% |
| Ulysses S. Grant Senior High | 8.39% |
| Alexander Hamilton Senior High | 25.99% |
| Hollywood Senior High | 17.53% |
| Huntington Park Senior High | 26.84% |
| Thomas Jefferson Senior High | 33.91% |
| David Starr Jordan Senior High | 19.48% |
| Abraham Lincoln Senior High | 25.94% |
| Los Angeles Senior High | 9.40% |
| Manual Arts Senior High | 20.13% |
| John Marshall Senior High | 30.89% |
| James Monroe High | 11.72% |
| North Hollywood Senior High | 23.92% |
| Ramona Opportunity High | 0.00% |
| Reseda Senior High | 17.23% |
| Theodore Roosevelt Senior High | 33.11% |
| South Gate Senior High | 34.09% |
| Sylmar Senior High | 15.26% |
| Taft Charter High | 18.42% |
| University Senior High | 21.39% |
| Van Nuys Senior High | 22.45% |
| Venice Senior High | 21.24% |
| Verdugo Hills Senior High | 11.41% |
| WESM Health/Sports Medicine | 33.47% |
| Woodrow Wilson Senior High | 34.85% |
| John F. Kennedy High | 19.01% |
| Youth Opportunities Unlimited | 1.02% |
| Palisades Charter High | 28.59% |
| City of Angels | 2.96% |
| Los Angeles Leadership Academy | 55.88% |
| Elizabeth Learning Center | 18.29% |
| Vaughn Next Century Learning Center | 29.85% |
| Robert Fulton College Preparatory | 11.18% |
| Foshay Learning Center | 63.58% |
| Magnolia Science Academy | 5.00% |