SAT results: More students setting sights on college

More high school seniors than ever before are taking the SAT college preparation examination. The class of 2009 also stands out as having the most diverse participation nationwide in SAT history, according to figures released Tuesday by the College Board.

More than 1.5 million seniors took the SAT last year; of those, 40 percent were minority students. This is an increase from 38 percent in 2008 and 29.2 percent in 1999, reflecting the steady growth in SAT minority participation rates.

On a long-term basis, students' mathematics scores nationwide have experienced an upward trend and are now four points higher than a decade ago; conversely, critical reading scores have declined somewhat and are now four points below what they were 10 years ago.

This year's college-bound seniors averaged 501 in critical reading, 515 in mathematics and 493 in writing. In 2008, the average score in critical reading was 502; in mathematics, 515; and in writing, 494. The writing section of the SAT was introduced in 2005. In 2006, the first year the writing scores were reported for the college-bound seniors cohort, the average writing score was 497.

In California, the mean score has basically remained constant, with students scoring just over 500 in critical reading over the last 15 years. Figures for mathematics were slightly higher at 515 for the class of 2009, while writing was lower at 493.

With a mean score of 503, males performed better on the critical reading portion of the examination compared to females, who scored 498. They also excelled with a score of 534 in math, while females earned only 499. But that same score in the writing portion was enough to do better than their male counterparts, who earned 486 on that section.

In terms of performance, public school students scored 495 in critical reading, up one point from 2008; 493 on writing the same as last year; and 494 on mathematics, a 1-point decrease from 2008. California's students who took more demanding honors or Advanced Placement courses tended to have higher SAT scores.

Here is the ethnic breakdown statewide:

— 19 percent of test-takers were Hispanic. Their critical reading mean score was 447; math, 451; and writing, 445.

— 7 percent of test-takers were black. Their critical reading mean score was 439; math, 428; and writing, 436.

— 34 percent of test-takers were white. Their critical reading mean score was 543; math, 549; and writing, 539.

District statistics will not be available to the public until later this school year.

However, large newspapers, including the Los Angeles Times, have put out a list ranking the state's top schools based on SAT scores. Lodi High is No. 242, while Tokay is ranked No. 399.

In Galt — ranked by the same survey as No. 521 — the overall SAT critical reading mean score for the 142 test-takers in 2009 was 478; math, 487; and writing, 485.

For females, the critical reading mean score was 470; math, 460; and writing, 483, while males scored 491, 525 and 488, respectively.

— 28 percent of test-takers were Hispanic. Their critical reading mean score was 453; math, 449; and writing, 447.

— 2 percent of test-takers were black, however there were not enough to determine each subject's mean score.

— 46 percent of test-takers were white. Their critical reading mean score was 504; math, 505; and writing, 512.

Lodi Unified plans to share its 2008-09 figures as part of a college and career preparation report which will be presented later this school year, according to Ed Eldridge, coordinator of assessment, research and evaluation.

As in previous years, the strongest SAT performers in the class of 2009 on average had three things in common: They had completed a core curriculum, had taken their school's most rigorous courses, and had familiarized themselves with the test, according to the College Board.

2009 college-bound seniors at a glance

— The most diverse group of college-bound seniors taking the SAT on record; this year's minority participation totaled 612,666 students nationwide.
— Hispanic students represent the largest and fastest-growing minority group taking the SAT and now account for 13.5 percent of all SAT takers, compared to 7.8 percent 10 years ago. The number of Hispanic testers over 10 years has more than doubled.
— Females comprised 53.5 percent of the 2009 test-taking group; males comprised 46.5 percent.
— More than one-third (36.1 percent) of SAT takers reported their parents' highest level of education as high school or less.
— Language diversity is increasing as more SAT takers report that English is not exclusively their first language compared to previous years — 25.2 percent versus 18.3 percent in 1999.
Source: The College Board

PSAT/SAT Preparation Seminar

Lodi High School's College and Career Center will host a PSAT/SAT Preparation Seminar on Sept. 14-15. The cost is $89 for five hours of instruction, test-taking strategies and a take-home study guide. Students can register online at www.rmass.com.

News-Sentinel staff

"The SAT directly reflects what students have learned in school and how they use that knowledge," said Laurence Bunin, senior vice president of the SAT Program at the College Board. "That's why the latest research continues to validate that the SAT, when combined with high school grades, is the best predictor of college success."

Completing a core curriculum — four or more years of English, three or more years of mathematics, three or more years of natural science, and three or more years of social science and history — remains strongly related to SAT scores, the College Board reports.

Students in the class of 2009 who took core curricula scored an average of 46 points higher on the critical reading section, 44 points higher on the mathematics section, and 45 points higher on the writing section than those who did not, according to the latest results.

Each year, the SAT is administered to more than 2 million students in more than 6,000 test centers that are located in more than 170 countries. The release of scores come less than a week after the same organization made public results of the ACT.

Once again, more seniors in the class of 2009 took that college entrance exam than ever before. Locally, 93 Lodi High School seniors did so, while 34 Galt High School students did. Tokay figures were unavailable.

The percentage of graduates ready to earn at least a "C" or higher in first-year college courses in all four subject areas tested on the ACT increased from 22 percent in 2008 to 23 percent in 2009. This percentage meeting all four benchmarks remains higher than in 2005 and 2006 and is the same as in 2007, when the pool of test-takers was likely less diverse in terms of academic preparation, according to the Iowa-based organization.

Contact reporter Jennifer Bonnett at jenniferb@lodinews.com.

Reader Feedback

Comments on this story are now closed.

Archives

Story Tools

Indexes