WEST VIRGINIA—Students of the Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston’s Catholic high schools have outscored their public school peers significantly on the American College Testing (ACT) exam, according to recently released statistics from the organization. The report reviews ACT performance by students enrolled in diocesan schools while also comparing them to the scores earned by the students in public schools in West Virginia during a five-year period from 2010 to 2014.  Diocesan school students continue to rank at the highest level in all testing categories. “Our students have continued their outstanding academic achievement,” said Vincent de Paul Schmidt, superintendent of Catholic schools for the diocese, “and reflective, I think, of the hard work put in by not only the students but by our seven high schools in terms of offering a rigorous academic program for our students. “I also think this data proves that by providing smaller class sizes, using innovative educational technologies and standing on the tradition of decades of academic excellence in our Catholic schools, we are uniquely poised for even better results in the years ahead,” Schmidt added. For students graduating in 2014 and taking the ACT exam, diocesan students excelled in all four subject areas of the test.  In English, diocesan students scored an average score of 23.2, while their public school counterparts scored 20.4.  In mathematics, diocesan students averaged a 21.6 and public school students reached 19.5.  In reading, diocesan students excelled with a 23.2 average, while their public school counterparts scored a 21.4 average.  In science, diocesan students scored a 22.8 average, and public school students received a 20.6 average. The composite scores equate to a 22.8 average in diocesan schools and a 20.6 in the state’s public schools. The ACT report also reflects how prepared students are for college-level courses.  When considering what students will encounter at the college-level in courses such as English composition, algebra, social sciences, and biology, students from Catholic schools who took the ACT exam are nearly twice as prepared to be successful as their public school counterparts (34% to 19%, respectively according to the ACT benchmark analysis). “The numbers that we are putting forth as our ACT numbers are reflective of our whole student body because the majority—in excess of 90 percent of our students—take a college entrance test,” Schmidt said. “In a public school, not all students are taking college entrance testing.” Schmidt noted that the test scores reflect a combination of factors coming together within the diocese’s schools. “One,” he said, “is incredible parental support for the programs we put forth in our schools. Number two—an unbelievable dedication to the students by the teachers, faculty and administration in our schools. And lastly, it shows that our students care about what their future brings. Our schools in the Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston are clearly putting forth an environment that nurtures not only the Catholic faith but high academic achievement. Given the support from our parents for the end goal, I see nothing but the opportunity for these scores to continue to increase.”