2025-26 Student Achievement & College Readiness Report

One school. Multiple measures. Consistently strong outcomes.

Scholars Diploma Recipients, HCA Class of 2026

1. IOWA TESTING DATA HCA Students Consistently Outperform National & Christian School Comparisons

Spring 2026 HCA Core Composite - National Percentile Rank

HCA Spring 2026

All Participating ACSI Accredited Schools

Participating ACSI Schools in Mid-America

National Norm, 50th Percentile

IOWA Assessments = Nationally Trusted Benchmark

Nearly 90 Years Trusted by Educators

4.6 Million Student Records Represented

Public & Private Schools Participate Nationwide

2. PSAT TESTING DATA

HCA High Schoolers Exceed Kansas & National College-Readiness Rates

HCA

Kansas

U.S.

100%

91%

88%

80%

65%

64%

60%

62% 60%

61%

40%

39%

38%

20%

Met Both Benchmarks

Met ERW Benchmark

Met Math Benchmark

Participation Data Why this matters: As reflected

HCA

Kansas

U.S.

100%

in the data, many schools across the nation only recommend the PSAT to a fraction of their student body, primarily to their highest-achieving students to compete for merit scholarships.

100%

80%

60%

40%

41%

36%

20%

15%

11%

9th Grade

10th Grade

11th Grade

HCA’s results reflect every student in the tested grades, not just a selected portion of the class. Even with universal participation, HCA’s rate of students meeting both college-readiness benchmarks exceeded Kansas and was 24 percentage points above the national rate.

3. ACT Testing Performance HCA Class of 2026 Average Ranks Among Top 20% of ACT Test Takers Nationwide

100%

Scored 30+ 4

80%

60%

58% of HCA Class of ‘26 Scored 25+

40%

20%

34 Highest Score HCA Class of ‘26

19.4 National Average

25 HCA Class of ‘26 Average

ACT Composite Score 17 19 20 22 25 28 30 32 34 36

ACT Assessments = Nationally Trusted College Benchmark

Over 60 Years Trusted by Higher Ed Institutions

1.5+ Million Graduates Tested Annually

10,000+ Score-Based Scholarships Available Nationwide

4. After the Tests The Class of 2026 Shows the Lasting Return on an Investment in Christ-centered Education

Class of 2026 Academic Recognition

28 2

EARNED A SCHOLARS DIPLOMA

NATIONAL HONOR SOCIETY MEMBERS

GRADUATED WITH A GPA ABOVE 4.0 24

EARNED STEM ENDORSEMENTS

College Board Award Recipients

ACHIEVED A 4-YEAR CUMULATIVE GPA OF 3.5 OR HIGHER AVERAGE ACT TEST SCORE 94% 25

Four HCA Seniors were recognized for outstanding PSAT performance with the Big Future Award.

Class of 2026 College-Bound Outcomes

ATTENDING 2 OR 4- YEAR COLLEGES 95% 4 WILL PLAY COLLEGE- LEVEL ATHLETICS

WILL PARTICIPATE IN COLLEGIATE HONORS PROGRAMS 40% >50% WILL MAJOR IN STEM, BUSINESS, OR ECON MAJORS

MILLION OFFERED IN SCHOLARSHIPS & GRANTS >$1.5 802 COLLEGE CREDITS COMPLETED IN HCA’S DUAL-CREDIT COURSES

Class of 2026 College Acceptances

Johnson County Community College, South Florida State College, MidAmerica Nazarene University, Texas Christian University, Central Missouri State, Fort Hays State University, Dordt University, Calvin University, Grand Canyon University, and many more.

An Exceptional Next Step HCA valedictorian Keira Cole was admitted to the University of Missouri–Kansas City’s highly competitive six-year B.A./M.D. Program, where she will earn both a bachelor’s degree and Doctor of Medicine degree.

SCHOOL OF MEDICINE

Keira distinguished herself at HCA through exceptional academic achievement while also participating in volleyball, National Honor Society and the Student-Athlete Leadership Team (SALT). Keira Cole, Valedictorian

The Results are Clear HCA Students are Academically Strong and Prepared to Pursue College, Careers, and Calling with Confidence

The results in this report give us much to celebrate. Across multiple grade levels and assessments, our students are demonstrating strong academic achievement and readiness for what comes next.

At HCA, however, academic excellence is about more than high scores. We believe students are called to love God with their minds, faithfully develop the abilities He has given them, and pursue excellence for His glory. These results are one encouraging indication that our students are building the knowledge, skills, discipline, and perseverance needed to do that well.

We are grateful for the teachers who challenge and invest in our students, for the families who faithfully partner with us, and for the students whose hard work is reflected in these results.

We will continue using assessment data to celebrate areas of strength, identify opportunities for growth, and strengthen the academic experience we provide. Our goal remains larger than preparing students for the next test or the next school: we seek to develop the whole student, heart, mind, and strength, for the glory of God.

Grace and peace,

Dr. Ben Hummel, HCA Head of School

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

Why include college outcomes and academic recognition in a testing report? Test scores provide one measure of academic preparation. Graduate outcomes show what that preparation can look like at the end of an HCA education. Academic honors, college credits, scholarships, college acceptances, honors programs, athletics, and other opportunities provide a broader picture of student readiness. Class of 2026 How are dual-credit hours calculated? HCA reports the college credit hours associated with dual-credit courses successfully completed by students. Individual students may choose whether to register and pay for the corresponding college credit through the partnering institution. FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS-CONT’D

What Comes Next?

What should parents do with these results? We hope these results give HCA families confidence in the education their children are receiving and a clearer picture of how that education is preparing students well. We encourage parents to review their own child’s Iowa Assessment results in Blackbaud and compare them with the national, ACSI Overall, and ACSI Mid-America benchmarks shared in this report. And if you know a family looking for the same combination of Christian formation and strong academic preparation, share these results with them and invite them to learn more about HCA. What will HCA do with these results? HCA will use the data to identify areas of strength, look for opportunities to improve, and help guide academic conversations and instructional priorities. Strong results are worth celebrating, but they also give us a baseline for continuing to strengthen the student experience. Does strong testing data mean there is no room for improvement? No. Strong schools continue evaluating their programs even when outcomes are encouraging. The purpose of assessment is not simply to prove success, but to help us understand where students are thriving and where we can continue growing.

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