During his tenure in office, Gov. Sonny Perdue set a higher average state SAT as a goal for his administration. His successor has wisely avoided treading that ground.
And for good reason.
Credit: Maureen Downey
Credit: Maureen Downey
The state’s performance on the college admissions tests – an imperfect but easily understood surrogate for academic performance – remains immune to efforts to raise it.
And that was the case today with the release of the 2014 SAT scores by the College Board
The release always prompts disclaimers the scores don't signify much because more students in Georgia take the test than in other states.
According to the state Department of Education, 73,626 Georgia students in the class of 2014 took the SAT, compared to 72,119 last year.
DeKalb, for example, paid for every student in the class of 2014 to take the exam, whether or not the student was planning for college. Test participation rose 45 percent; the average score in the high-poverty district dropped 8 percent.
That wider pool likely includes less prepared students, thus pulling down Georgia scores compared to states where there are fewer and more academically able test takers.
In math and critical reading, Georgia scores dropped by two points. In writing, scores dropped by three points. The mean score for critical reading was 488 in 2014, with mean scores of 485 for math and 472 for writing.
“Do we want to see scores go up every year? Absolutely,” said state school Superintendent Dr. John Barge. “However, we know that as more Georgia students take the SAT, we will sometimes see slight decreases. The measures are in place to better prepare students for college and 21st-century careers and, by extension, the SAT. The gains in scores will come.”
Scores are flat nationwide. In fact, the average score has now fallen 21 points since the College Board revised the well-known test eight years ago. It is now being overhauled again.
Bob Schaeffer, Public Education Director of the National Center for Fair & Open Testing (FairTest), said, “Proponents of 'No Child Left Behind,' 'Race to the Top,' and similar state-level programs promised the testing focus would boost college readiness while narrowing score gaps between groups. The data show a total failure according to their own measures. Doubling down on unsuccessful policies with more high-stakes K-12 testing, as Common Core exam proponents propose, is an exercise in futility, not meaningful school improvement. Nor will revising the SAT, as currently planned, address the nation’s underlying educational issues.”
SAT scores align with parental backgrounds and income; high schoolers in 2014 whose parents lacked a high school diploma had an average score of 1,286. Kids at the other end -- having parents with graduate degrees -- scored 1,686. While children in the poorest households scored 1,324 on average, peers in the wealthiest households scored 1,722.
According to the AJC:
The College Board, which administers the SAT, released the data Tuesday. The test is considered an indicator of college preparedness and consists of three portions: math, verbal and writing, each worth 800 points. A perfect score is 2400.
The number of DeKalb students who took the SAT during the 2013-14 school year increased by about 45 percent from the prior school year, from 3,864 to 5,635. The next largest increase in metro Atlanta was Gwinnett County, which had a 2 percent increase in the number of test takers. College Board officials and some experts have attributed declining scores nationally to the testing pool, which is growing and becoming more diverse.
Average SAT scores rose slightly in Atlanta to 1343 and Clayton County to 1278, while the scores took a minor dip in Gwinnett to 1505. The scores remained the same in the Cobb and Fulton districts at 1515 and 1567 respectively.
A list of the top-scoring schools with 100 or more test takers changed only slightly from last year. Kennesaw Mountain High in Cobb County and North Oconee High in Oconee County moved onto the top 20 list, displacing Wheeler High in Cobb and Chamblee High in DeKalb.
And from DOE:
The number of seniors taking the SAT increased by 7.5 percent among Asian students, 4.9 percent among black students, 12.5 percent among Mexican American students, 11.4 percent among Puerto Rican students, and 9.7 percent among other Hispanic students. Of those Georgia seniors who took the exam, 47.9 percent (or 35,270 students) were minority students, compared to 46.1 percent from the class of 2013.
On the PSAT, 34,036 Georgia eleventh-graders took the test, outscoring the nation in reading, math, and writing. Georgia juniors recorded mean scores of 48.8 in critical reading, 49.5 in math, and 47.9 in writing. The math score increased by 0.4 points year-to-year, while the reading score decreased by 0.1 percent and the writing score decreased by 0.7 percent.
Georgia sophomores taking the PSAT recorded mean scores of 40.5 in critical reading, 41.3 in mathematics, and 39.7 in writing. The math score saw a 0.2 percent increase, while the reading score and writing mean scores each decreased by 0.7 percent.
Data released by the College Board along with PSAT and SAT score reports give some indication of where Georgia's college-bound students are heading. Among 2013 high school graduates who took one of the College Board's tests – the SAT, the PSAT, or an AP exam – 57.2 percent were known to be enrolled in college. Many of those students – 79.8 percent – chose to enroll in Georgia universities.
The 2014 data also offer a look at students' post-secondary plans, since SAT test-takers tell the College Board where to send their scores. The University of Georgia received the highest percentage (30.5 percent) of student score sends, followed by Kennesaw State, Georgia Southern, Georgia State, Georgia Tech, Valdosta State, the University of West Georgia, Georgia College and State University, the Duke University Talent Identification Program, and Georgia Gwinnett College, in that order.
Quick Facts:
-73,626 Georgia students in the class of 2014 took the SAT, compared to 72,119 last year. In other words: 77.2 percent of Georgia students from the class of 2014 took the SAT
-Of those Georgia students who took the exam, 47.9 percent (35,720 students) were minority students, compared to 46.1 percent (33,243 students) from the class of 2013
-In Georgia in 2013, 179,736 students took the PSAT/NMSQT
-Among Georgia's 10th-grade public school students, 80.2 percent participated in the PSAT/NMSQT last year. This compares to 38.3 percent of 10th-grade public school students nationally
- In Georgia, 87,155 minority students participated in the 2013 PSAT administration. This represents 48.5 percent of Georgia test-takers.
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