Seven Fulton County high schools are among the state’s leaders in ACT performance, according to information released today by the Georgia Department of Education and the ACT organization.

During the 2009 testing cycle, 2,520 Fulton County students took the test – an increase of 267 students, or nearly 12 percent, from the previous year. While some schools saw changes in their performance, the overall Fulton County composite score remained constant at 22.2 and is the highest of the large metro Atlanta school systems. The state and national composite scores also stayed the same at 20.6 and 21.1, respectively. Scores range from 0 to 36.

Click here to view school-by-school scores and comparisons between the 2008 and 2009 testing cycles.

In its release of information, the state Department of Education listed Chattahoochee High School (25.2 composite score) as Georgia’s top performing school. Riverwood International Charter School (25.0) also was noted, as was Milton High School (24.6), Northview High School (24.6), Alpharetta High School (23.9), Roswell High School (23.7) and Centennial High School (23.4). Riverwood also was highlighted as one of the state’s most improved schools in ACT performance.

“I’m pleased to see an increase of students taking the ACT. The test is an excellent predictor of how successful our students will be in a college environment,” said Superintendent Cindy Loe, Ph.D. “I’m proud that our students continue to do so well on this test and are outperforming their state and national peers.”

Similar to the SAT, the ACT is commonly used for college admission and placement. According to the organization, the test is taken by more than 50 percent of high school students in 27 states and is increasingly becoming the preferred admission test by four-year colleges. The test measures English, math, reading and science proficiency, with an optional writing section, whereas the SAT measures only math, reading and writing. Testing is voluntary and occurs throughout the year, and students are able to take the test more than once to improve their performance.

ACT originally stood for American College Testing but in 1996 the organization’s name was shortened to simply “ACT.” The organization was founded in 1959 and celebrates 50 years of college entrance testing this year.