South Carolina SAT Scores Up .14%

The latest SAT scores are now out for South Carolina, and the good news is, the scores ARE higher (http://www.ed.sc.gov/news/more.cfm?articleID=1034.) The bad news, we are still 32 points less than average in the nation. Now, obviously it is better to be two points higher than last year, but 2 points higher than 1461 is an increase of .14% (rounded up.) If we can keep up this 2 point increase each year, it will take 16 years to reach the nationwide average. That is, assuming other state scores don't improve. The state department of education also says the gap between white and black kids is widening. If these are priorities (higher SAT scores and narrowing of the black/white gap,) then clearly there is much work to be done. Now, having said all of this, I congratulate the students of South Carolina for improving. Clearly, this is better than a drop in the scores. As a matter of fact, the above article goes on to point out the fact that...

"The College Board, which tracks 10-year SAT trends, said the state’s 34-point improvement since 1998 in reading and math (the writing test is only in its third year) remained the nation’s best among states where more than half of the high school seniors take the SAT. "

This IS an important fact. There are other states who simply test a smaller number of students. If you test fewer students, and only test the students who tend to do better on the tests, you end up at an unfair advantage. The number of black students who scored high enough to earn college credit in AP classes is up 25% in the last 5 years. That is great news for those kids, and great news for South Carolina. But as good as some of these points are, a .14% increase in the SAT scores is not acceptable. What do you think??


Raymond
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