Understanding the Data Behind the Report FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
IOWA Assessments
What are the IOWA Assessments? The Iowa Assessments are nationally normed standardized tests used to measure student achievement across core academic areas. They allow HCA to compare student performance with national norms and with other schools using the same assessment. What does “national percentile rank” mean? A national percentile rank shows how a student or group performed compared with students in the national norm group. For example, a score at the 84th percentile means performance was higher than approximately 84% of the national comparison group. What is ACSI, and why are we comparing HCA with ACSI schools? The Association of Christian Schools International, or ACSI, is HCA’s accrediting organization. Comparing HCA with ACSI Overall and ACSI Mid-America gives us another useful reference point by showing how our students perform alongside students at other Christian schools nationally and within our region.
PSAT Test
What does it mean to meet a PSAT college-readiness benchmark? College Board benchmarks indicate whether a student is on track for college readiness in Reading & Writing and Math. They are designed to show whether students are developing the academic skills they will need for college-level work. Why does PSAT participation matter when comparing schools? Participation rates vary significantly. HCA gives the PSAT to every student in the tested grades, so our results reflect the full range of students rather than a selected portion of the class. That makes HCA’s strong benchmark performance especially meaningful. Is an ACT score of 25 considered strong? Yes. A composite score of 25 ranks around the 83rd national percentile among recent ACT-tested graduates. HCA’s Class of 2026 averaged 25, and more than half of the class scored 25 or higher. ACT Test
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