Their homecoming week may have just ended, but the Lyons Township High School community still has something to cheer about.

The American College Test results taken in spring by graduating seniors received the highest ACT score in school history, said Jennifer Bialobock, a school spokeswoman.

“Obviously, we’re pretty excited about it,” Superintendent Dennis Kelly said. “To have the top scores in the history of the school district is exciting.”

The school had an average score of 23.8, which is up four-tenths of a point over last year, Bialobock said.

The school’s score also outpaced state and national averages of the ACT, which were at 21.1 and 20.5, respectively.

Bialobock said the ACT became a required test for college-bound students in 2001 as part of the Prairie State Achievement exam. The school has been keeping track of student scores since then, she said. The ACT is one of the more popular tests for college-bound students and “primarily serves as a measure of a student’s preparation for college coursework in the first year of college,” Bialobock said.

The ACT consists of curriculum-based achievement tests in English, mathematics, reading and science, Bialobock said. The school’s average score of 23.8 is based on a scale of 1 to 38, she said.

Kelly said the district is committed to taking the test preparation and scores to the next level.

“We think there’s some minor changes we can make to push into the next level,” he said. “One of the things we need to move to, as long as every junior is required to take the ACT, we need to provide a preparatory class. I think we owe it to students.”

Kelly said he wants the district to provide preparatory ACT classes during the school day versus holding an after-school program to ensure that every student is exposed to a higher level of intense preparation.

“If we’re going to ensure every kid takes it, there need to be access during the school day,” Kelly said. “A number of students do preparatory classes (through Kaplan or another program). As long as it’s high stakes, it’s important for every kid to be exposed.”