High school seniors surpass archdiocese’s all-time ACT mark

Graduating seniors in the Archdiocese of Omaha’s 17 high schools had a record-setting average composite ACT score of 24.9, up from the previous record 24.6 achieved last year and in the 2013-2014 school year.

The 2016 score also was higher than this year’s statewide average of 21.4, and the nation’s 20.8.

The ACT measures college-preparedness in English, math, reading and science.

Patrick Slattery, superintendent of archdiocesan schools, said the high scores are a credit to a lot of hard work – by students, parents and teachers.

Catholic education cultivates a "culture of excellence," Slattery said. And its inclusion of faith in the curriculum nurtures success, he said, because "you can’t maximize the potential of the brain if you’re not attending to the needs of the heart."

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