It's that time of year again.  All local area eighth graders who plan on attending either Palatine or Fremd High School will be taking their entrance exams next Saturday morning.

These students - the Class of 2015 - are required to take the EXPLORE test which is the first of several in the ACT College Readiness series. Subject areas tested include English, mathematics, reading and science. 

Test results will be sent to parents Jan. 3 along with information on elective courses. The student’s actual test booklet and answers are handed out at the school’s Incoming Freshman Parent Night later that month. 

The  EXPLORE scores, along with a student's current academic performance, are used to determine their freshman year course placement. 

This is when a third or more of Community Consolidated School District 15 parents will find out that their child is not on track for college, based on their ACT-aligned EXPLORE scores. Even though many of these same students have consistently been rated as “meets standards” on the Illinois State Achievement Tests (ISATs), they will now have to play “catch up” in order to score well on the ACT exam in their junior year.

That score, in conjunction with a student's high school grade point average, is used by colleges nationwide to determine whether a student is accepted.

Administrators from Township High School District 211 and District 15 have explained that it has been documented and well known for a few years that there is a discrepancy between the ISATs and the ACT exams.

In fact, Lake Zurich School District 95 published a report that explains the relationship between a student’s composite score on the EXPLORE test and his chances of meeting the ACT benchmark of 21 (out of 36 total points).  

Just two years ago, District 211 reported to their Board of Education that data from the EXPLORE test for the class of 2011 showed that 37 percent of students from District 15 were not predicted to meet state standards in reading and 38 percent of students in math. Yet they were deemed proficient by Illinois standards. 

Parents need to understand that meeting, rather than exceeding, achievement goals set by the state of Illinois is a strong indicator that their child will not be ready for high school, much less college. In fact they will be denied the opportunity to take advantage of many courses offered at Palatine and Fremd High Schools. 

Instead they will be placed in remedial classes or special programs designed to increase their chances of future success. This often requires that student give up their choice of a second elective their freshmen year. Sometimes that means postponing a world language until sophomore year or making the decision to drop out of band.

Almost always it means summer school attendance to begin to make up the deficits from their elementary school years.

If District 15 has known that meeting eighth grade standards does not equal college readiness, then why haven't parents been informed? Shouldn't they be warned in the early grades when high school still is a few years away?

How many students are actually not on track for college? How far off are they and what is District 211 doing to help?

The next few Education Matters columns will focus on these questions and more.