Only 14% Of Battle Creek Central Seniors Are ‘College Ready’

Most of the Battle Creek area’s current high school seniors are below the state average for college readiness, based on analysis of test scores.

MLive says that the study of the Class of 2019’s junior year SAT scores shows only 34.6 percent of Michigan’s public school students are determined to be “college ready”; college-readiness by this metric is based on meeting a certain threshold in Evidence-Based Reading and Writing and Math. In individual subjects, a 530 subscore in math and 480 subscore in reading and writing are considered "ready".

In the Battle Creek area, most students graduating this year aren’t college ready; At Harper Creek, 28 percent meet the threshold, at Lakeview it’s 31 percent, and at Pennfield 25 percent. The Battle Creek Public Schools Class of 2019 is only 14 percent college ready, while the highest scoring school in Calhoun County is Marshall, with 43 percent.

It’s important to note that just because a student isn’t considered “college-ready” according to their SAT scores in the spring of their Junior year, that doesn’t mean they can’t do well in college. As well, these tests are administered when the students have more than a year left of learning before they graduate, and that could make a big difference.

The numbers for area schools are below.

• Athens Junior Senior High School: College Ready 21% (Reading and Writing: 43%/Math: 26%)
• Battle Creek Central High School: College Ready 14% (Reading and Writing: 39%/Math: 15%)
• Bellevue Jr/Sr High School: College Ready 26% (Reading and Writing: 49%/Math: 26%)
• Harper Creek High School: College Ready 28% (Reading and Writing: 57%/Math: 30%)
• Homer Community High School: College Ready 32% (Reading and Writing: 55%/Math: 42%)
• Lakeview High School: College Ready 31% (Reading and Writing: 54%/Math: 36%)
• Marshall High School: College Ready 43% (Reading and Writing: 70%/Math: 44%)
• Olivet High School: College Ready 33% (Reading and Writing: 60%/Math: 36%)
• Pennfield Senior High School: College Ready 25% (Reading and Writing: 49%/Math 26%)
• Tekonsha Schools: College Ready 21% (Reading and Writing: 58%/Math: 21%)
• Union City High School: College Ready 22% (Reading and Writing: 66%/Math: 22%)