ATLANTA — Southern Regional Education Board states saw historically high average combined SAT scores for certain groups of students, even as many SREB states saw average SAT scores dip slightly in results released today.
“While all of us want to see SAT scores rise, other indicators of educational progress such as achievement levels and high school and college completion rates are even more important,” SREB President Dave Spence said. “The SAT scores are strong evidence, though, that we must work harder to help all students achieve at high levels.”
Texas saw a 2-point rise in its average combined score, which rose to 997— at least a 10-year high for the state. Georgia, Florida, North Carolina and Virginia saw their average combined scores drop slightly. These five SREB states were among only 11 SAT-dominant states in the nation that either increased scores or had scores that did not decline as much as the nation as a whole.
The national average combined score, which includes the math and reading portions of the test, was 1021, down 7 points from last year.
One SAT-dominant SREB state beat the national average — Virginia, which had an average combined score of 1025. Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia were among the states with upward trends over the past decade, even though those states had slight declines in this year’s scores.
Gaps between average scores of white students and minority students in the nation and SREB states continue to demand attention. The national average combined score for white students nationwide declined by 5 points to 1063. Black students showed an average of 863, down by 1 point, and Mexican-American students (the way the College Board defines its largest Hispanic group of test-takers) showed an increase of 3 points to 919.
Black students in three SREB states — North Carolina, Texas and Virginia — reached their highest levels in at least a decade. Six of the eight SREB states where a majority of students take the SAT saw the gaps between average combined scores for white and black students narrow: Delaware, Florida, North Carolina, South Carolina, Texas and Virginia.
Texas and Virginia saw at least 10-year highs on average combined scores for Mexican-American students. Six of the eight SREB states where a majority of students take the SAT also saw gaps narrow between average scores for white and Mexican-American students: Georgia, Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, Texas and Virginia.
SREB’s Challenge to Lead Goals for Education call for student achievement to exceed national averages for all groups of students and for performance gaps to be closed.
Five-year trends in SAT scores show that three SREB states — North Carolina, Texas and Virginia — had increases in their average scores that outpaced gains in the overall national average, even as the percentage of students in those states taking the SAT continued to rise over time. Generally, average scores decline when higher percentages of students take the SAT, but these states have seen their average scores increase instead.
In the past 10 years, the percentage of students taking a more rigorous high school curriculum to better prepare students for college and careers has increased. States that have seen considerable gains over the past 10 years in the percentage of students taking such courses include Delaware, Georgia, South Carolina, Texas and Virginia.
Some SREB states ranked high for their average scores on the new writing portion of the SAT this year. Virginia had the seventh-highest average writing score among states where a majority of students took the SAT, with an average score of 500. Maryland the eighth-highest average writing score among such states at 499. Georgia and Texas both were 13th nationally in writing among those states, with averages of 487. All other SREB states in which a majority of students take the SAT were fewer than 10 points behind.
SREB, a nonprofit and nonpartisan organization based in Atlanta, Georgia, advises state education leaders on ways to improve education. SREB was created in 1948 by Southern governors and legislatures to help leaders in education and government work cooperatively to advance education and improve the social and economic life of the region. SREB has 16 member states: Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia and West Virginia. Each is represented by its governor and four gubernatorial appointees.
