SAT/ACT Results

Journal story....

SAT scores flat nationwide, but improvements seen locally

SAT scores among high school seniors remain stagnant on the national level, but are on the rise in nearly all local school districts.

But local educators who question the test’s relevance say it is not as popular as the ACT exam and pales in comparison when it comes to assessing student abilities.

The College Board, the nonprofit organization that administers the test, this month reported scores from the Class of 2014 that were similar to other recent senior classes.

Overall, the mean score in reading was 497. It was 513 in math and 487 in writing.

The top score in each category is 800. A perfect score is 2,400, an achievement only reached by 583 of the 1.7 million students from the class who took the test.

Among Butler County school districts, the mean score in reading was 549. It was 568 in math and 520 in writing, according to data obtained by the Journal-News.

Three districts — Madison, Middletown and Talawanda — saw overall SAT scores increase by more than 200 points between the 2009-2010 and 2013-2014 school years

OK, TOP SCORE IS 2400.....800 IN EACH OF THE THREE CATEGORIES. MEAN SCORE FOR BUTLER COUNTY SCHOOLS IS SLIGHTLY HIGHER THAN 50% IN EACH CATEGORY. IS SLIGHTLY GREATER THAN 50% CONSIDERED AN ACCOMPLISHMENT HERE? WHAT IS AN ACCEPTABLE CRITERIA FOR JUDGEMENT?

I NOTICED THAT TALAWANDA, MIDDLETOWN AND MADISON SAW AN INCREASE OF MORE THAN 200 POINTS. THAT CERTAINLY SOUNDS LIKE AN ACCOMPLISHMENT BUT AM NOT ABLE TO MAKE AN ACTUAL JUDGEMENT AS THE ARTICLE DOESN"T MENTION WHAT THE ACTUAL INCREASED SCORES WERE IN EACH CATEGORY NOR DOES IT MENTION THE ORIGINAL NUMBER FROM WHERE THE 200 POINT INCREASE CAME FROM. IF 200 WITH A 200 POINT UPSWING, THEN THE TALLY IS STILL ONLY 50% OF WHAT THE TOP SCORE COULD HAVE BEEN. DUNNO.

Deborah Houser, Middletown City School District’s testing coordinator, said the district has been focusing more on college and career readiness.

“We are administering PSAT, which is a precursor assessment to SAT. We are providing more opportunities for students to take college and career ready assessments, for example, this year, we administered PSAT and ACT during the school year in addition to the traditional Saturday test.

The district’s emphasis on the SAT exams has changed over the year, she said.

“We do offer SATs assessments, however more emphasis is placed on ACT because of the request from our students and families,” Houser said.

However, the SAT is still a relevant gauge of student abilities, she said.

“It assesses the student’s academic readiness for college, and it gives the student an opportunity to demonstrate knowledge and strengths in areas of interest,” Houser said

THAT ALL SOUNDS GREAT BUT, AGAIN, WE STILL DON'T KNOW WHERE MIDDLETOWN SCORES STAND AS TO SUCCESS WITHIN EACH OF THE THREE AREAS AND AS SUCH, ARE UNABLE TO SHARE IN THE EXCITEMENT OF THE MOMENT.

The print version of the story included the following chart: