College preparation is becoming more important for students. In a crowded job market, a college degree has essentially become a requirement.

It looks like area high schools are doing a good job of preparing students for college. ACT scores for the area are almost all above state and national averages.

For the class of 2015, the average Illinois graduate scored a composite ACT score of 20.7. The national average was 21.

Last year’s Waterloo High School seniors averaged a composite score of 21.8.

“We are very proud of all students and their successes,” WHS principal Lori Costello said. “We have students who are successful at so many levels and in so many areas of their school lives.  Our students come from strong families who value education. Success is also directly attributed to the quality of instruction provided by our faculty. This is a team effort, kindergarten to 12th grade.”

Waterloo offers a five-week course that meets once a week for two hours to focus on ACT testing.

“All of our juniors took the ACT test, despite their academic level,” Costello said. “The best way to prepare for the ACT is for students to take, and the school to provide, rigorous coursework that challenges students academically.”

Columbia High School’s graduating class averaged a composite score of 22.5. Their average scores for English, math, reading and science were higher than all of the state and national averages.

“What that indicates is full college readiness,” CHS principal Jason Dandurand said. “It lets our parents know that we’re doing a good job of getting kids ready for college and that level of coursework.”

Like Waterloo, the school has held a Saturday ACT prep class for eight weeks.

“Our goal is to continue to prepare students to be ready for college,” Dandurand said. “I’m not worried about how we compare across the state or the nation; our job is to prepare kids for college. It’s nice to be above those averages because that tells me we’re doing a good job, but we could still do better.”

Of the five local schools — Waterloo, Columbia, Gibault, Valmeyer and Dupo — Gibault averaged the highest composite score with a 24.8.

“ACT scores certainly show the success of students, the academic programs of a school, and the parents’ value of education,” Gibault principal Russ Hart said. “I think the ACT scores, and SAT, are equally important to public and private schools. It should be an indicator of the school’s academic program. Every school has different hurdles to overcome to reach good scores, so it is hard to always make direct comparisons.”

Hart added that families are interested in the scores, but not as many as one would think for a private school.

“We like to look at those scores to see if our students have improved since they have attended Gibault and if there is any academic area we need to improve on,” Hart said.

Also with above average scores is Valmeyer. Last year’s class averaged a composite score of 21.9.

Valmeyer superintendent Eric Frankford attributes the success to the district’s small class sizes as well as dedicated staff.

“While we might not be able to offer our students a diverse array of electives compared to schools 10 times our size, we concentrate on offering a core curriculum that is comparable and that, most importantly, allows our students the opportunity to be successful,” Frankford said.

Dupo was the only school that averaged slightly lower than the national and state average. Last year’s class had an average ACT composite score of 18.9.

For the past five years, Dupo has averaged between 18.5-19.2. But for the past couple of years, the school has been preparing students for the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers exam.

That test uses the common core: math and English.

Dupo superintendent Steve Smith said the ACT is still an important test to get into college, but Dupo is focusing on the PARCC exam for Illinois testing. Results from last year’s test won’t be sent out until the end of the month.