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The State | 08/29/2007 | S.C. trails nation again (broken link)
S.C. trails nation again
‘We need to see greater improvement at a faster rate,’ state education chief says
By BILL ROBINSON -
brobinson@thestate.com
South Carolina’s average SAT score declined for a second consecutive year, but ranked 49th among all states and the District of Columbia, a trend the state’s top educator calls disconcerting.
The 24,081 students scheduled to graduate last spring who took the test scored an average 984 out of 1600 points, according to the College Board, which owns and administers the college entrance exam.
The average score takes into account students at public, private and home schools.
A different group of S.C. students scored a combined 985 a year ago on reading comprehension and math sections, which ranked last among all states.
The SAT, which is a voluntary test, is marketed as a tool four-year colleges use to gauge which students have the best chance of being successful as freshmen.
The College Board cautions against state-to-state comparisons, but South Carolina’s average SAT score long has been viewed as a yardstick for how graduates compare with peers nationally. Those comparisons have shown S.C. teens to be far behind classmates, although the gap has narrowed since 1997.
This year’s S.C. average topped the District of Columbia (940) and Maine (931), where since 2006, every junior has been required to the take the test as part of a concerted campaign to emphasize college readiness.
State schools chief Jim Rex described the 2007 report as “disconcerting.”
“We’re going in the right direction,” Rex said of a 10-year trend that shows South Carolina improved 30 points toward reaching the current national average of 1017.
“The bad news is we’re not going at a pace we need to. We need to see greater improvement at a faster rate.”
Rex offered no specific proposals to promote improvement. Instead, he suggested his platform of emphasizing teacher recruitment, boosting educator morale and steering more resources to needy schools could translate into better results.
He agreed that reviving a task force like the one in the late 1990s that suggested ideas for raising scores, might be worth considering. Many of those ideas had been implemented, an aide noted.
Suzette Lee, who heads the state Education Department’s office of instruction, said one problem with low SAT scores might be S.C.’s flexible course offering policy — especially in math.
Some states, Lee said, stipulate students take two years of algebra, geometry and pre-calculus as graduation requirements, which are the inspiration for SAT questions.
“We don’t specify the courses students take, or when,” Lee said.
The national average for 2007 declined four points on a five-hour test that underwent major format changes two years ago, including the addition of an essay. It was the second year the national average score declined.
Mid-Carolina High in Newberry County bucked the state and national trend. The 63 members of its class of 2007 who took the test tallied an average score of 1027, 10 points above the national average.
Principal Lynn Cary said her school employs an aggressive strategy of screening underclassmen through diagnostic testing. Administrators meet routinely with students and parents to review academic strengths and weaknesses. The school also uses a computer program that provides students with practice taking high-stakes tests. It also offers elective classes designed to help them prepare for the SAT.
The district offers middle school students an opportunity to attend a summer camp where SAT preparation is the focus of computer tutorials and specialized instruction.
“These kids have been exposed to what we’re doing since middle school,” Cary said. “It’s a culture of preparation.”
Swansea High is another school that saw its scores improve dramatically between 2006 and 2007. While its 2007 class average was 962 and below the state average, principal Robert Maddox said Swansea High’s faculty deserves credit for crafting a curriculum that provides students with extra help to prepare for the test.
Most underclassmen, Maddox said, take twice the amount of math and English instruction than the normal 45 minutes-a-day.
“We’re trying to make sure freshman and sophomores have math and English all year long for 180 days,” Maddox said. “What we do with the time we have is important. Hopefully, we use the time well.”
Maddox, who has been principal four years, said the Lexington 4 school uses diagnostic testing throughout the year to guide teachers in modifying lessons that target skills and learning where students are behind.
“It’s not like I’m an architect of these things,” Maddox said. “We have good people.”
For the most part, students at high schools in Columbia’s northern suburbs scored above the state average. Students at Lexington-Richland 5’s three high schools combined for a district average of 1063, boosted in part by an average of 1083 at Dutch Fork High.
BY THE NUMBERS
Among the many statistics released Tuesday by the College Board, which owns and administers the SAT, are these reflecting how 2007 high school graduates fared on math and critical reading sections of the college entrance exam.
National average: 1017
No. 1 ( Iowa): 1221
No. 49 (S.C.): 984
Most improved: Tamassee-Salem High in Oconee County — 1132 (+234)
Most improved Columbia-area school: Swansea High — 962 (+59)
Columbia-area schools above the national average: Gilbert, Lexington, Pelion, Chapin, Dutch Fork, Irmo, A.C. Flora and Spring Valley
SOURCE: S.C. Department of Education
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