News Release
Contacts: Robert T. Tad Perry, Executive Director
tadp@ris.sdbor.edu
Janelle Toman, Director of Information and Institutional Research
janellet@ris.sdbor.edu
T: 605.773.3455
F: 605.773.5320
www.sdbor.edu

College Gains in SD Public Universities Outpace National Averages

MADISON - South Dakota's public university students continue to gain academically more in their first two years of college than the national average. The South Dakota Board of Regents was briefed Tuesday on a report that compares the achievement of South Dakota students, based on ACT and college proficiency exams, to other students across the country who attend a public or private four-year college.

Since 1998, the regents have required the CAAP exam-College Assessment of Academic Performance-of all second-semester sophomores. The gains report issued today looks at student achievement by comparing scores on the ACT college-entrance exam (or a COMPASS exam score if the student does not have a valid ACT score) against results of the sophomore proficiency exam.

"Students enrolled in South Dakota's public universities had greater gains in achievement in all four areas examined than students in the national reference group," said Regents President Harvey C. Jewett. "These performance gains have been relatively consistent over the past four years, and provide us a good quality assurance measure."

Student achievement is measured in the areas of writing skills, mathematics, reading, and science reasoning. South Dakota students last year made the greatest gains in science reasoning (99 percent), followed by mathematics (95 percent), reading (95 percent), and writing skills (94 percent). The focus is on the change in score level from the time of the ACT testing to that of the proficiency exam.

Comparison of Percentage of Student Gains in Achievement SD Public Higher Education vs. Reference Group, 2002-03