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Graduates of Oakwood High School live in one of Dayton's wealthiest and highest-scoring school districts, so it's no surprise they take college entrance tests in high numbers.

But it's not just pressure from parents and the hope to attend top colleges that pushed more than eight of 10 Oakwood graduates to take both the SAT and ACT and saw them rank among the area's best scorers.

Their school district also specifically nurtures the skills kids will need to score well, and actively encourages students to take both exams even though most Ohio students take just the ACT.

"Some students tend to perform better on the SAT and some on the ACT," said Kim Kappler, the district's curriculum, instruction and assessment director. "If they take both, it is more likely the student's strengths will be demonstrated on one of the two."

Across the Miami Valley there are wide disparities in the percentage of students who take college entrance tests, earn honors diplomas and take Advanced Placement tests.

Some schools on the high end of those scales, like Oakwood, pay special attention to the requirements for them, which may push their student performance even higher.

At Oakwood, nearly 90 percent of 2006 graduates took the SAT. They had an average score of 1118, second only to Mason locally. Oakwood's 24.8 average ACT score is best in a 12-county area.

Kappler said Oakwood studies the ACT's college readiness standards and incorporates the concepts it tests into the school's curriculum. SAT does not publish such a guide, but the district carefully studies student scores on the PSAT, a preliminary test taken in 10th grade, for clues about curriculum changes needed to boost SAT scores.

Elsewhere in the Miami Valley, most kids take the ACT rather than the SAT, but at much smaller percentages than at Oakwood.

The ACT, made by an Iowa-based company, began in the 1950s as a Midwestern alternative to the SAT, a product of the New Jersey-based College Board, which a coalition of East coast colleges created as a way to standardize the application process. Today, most schools accept scores from either the ACT or SAT.

Only seven of 59 area districts saw a majority of their graduates take the SAT in 2006. Beavercreek, Yellow Springs, Centerville and Oakwood are the only local districts that had a higher percentage of their graduates take the SAT.

But in many districts — about a third — less than half of the students took any college entrance exams. That includes some large districts that otherwise had good average scores on those tests, including Kettering, Troy, Northmont and Huber Heights, who all beat the national average score.

At Troy, Superintendent Tom Dunn said several factors may be holding down the district's ACT participation. Some students go directly to the military or technical schools, he said. The district also has a strong connection to Edison Community College.

Ohio's strong community colleges may explain low SAT and ACT participation in other districts, too. Community colleges do not require the SAT or ACT and are cheaper than most four-year schools. Some students attend them for two years and then transfer to four-year schools.

In Troy, about 100 high school attended Edison over the past three years, earning college credits through a special state program. Of the 2006 Troy graduating class, about 40 of 331 enrolled at Edison the following fall.

Another new state measure of college readiness is the "honors" diploma. To earn that credential, students must take extra math, English, science and foreign language, including specific challenging courses, while maintaining a 3.5 grade-point average on a 4.0 scale and scoring a 27 ACT score or 1210 on the SAT.

In the greater Miami Valley area, small schools dominated the list of those with the highest percentage of graduates with the honors diploma. Minster, in Auglaize County, exceeded Oakwood with just under half of its 2006 class earning the designation. Fort Loramie and New Bremen were above 40 percent.

Minster also was among just five area districts that had at least 10 students who took Advanced Placement tests that saw 85 percent or better score at least a 3. AP tests come at the end of courses that are designed to meet college standards for rigor. Many colleges will allow students who score a 3 or better on a five-point scale to skip introductory courses in the same subject when the arrive on campus.

While few students try these tests — just one in four area districts had more than a quarter of graduates who took one — those who did scored well. Of the 46 districts with more than 10 graduates who took AP exams, 41 saw at least four in 10 score 3 or above.

Contact this reporter at (937) 225-2485

or selliott@DaytonDailyNews.com.