State SAT scores rise, rank No. 49
By: DANIEL LOWREY
News Editor
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South Carolina high school seniors made progress on the SAT exam again this year, boosting the state's average test score eight points to 989.
For the second consecutive year, the state finds itself in 49th place among the 50 states that use the popular college readiness assessment. Seniors pushed South Carolina ahead of Georgia by five points. Now, only four points behind Texas, educators have their eyes set on moving up again.
The scores were announced last week at Spring Valley High School near Columbia, where SAT scores jumped 29 points from 2002 to 1,053. "We've made so much progress, and the good news continues," said state Superintendent Inez Tenenbaum of the announcement.
The improvement, though not exhaustive, is a welcome one for a state that languished at the bottom of the average SAT rankings for years.
The SAT measures students' verbal and math skills and claims to predict how well a student will perform in a college setting. Scores can range from a low of 400 to a perfect score of 1600.
Not everyone is convinced of the efficacy of the improvement.
Senior Kris Simpson remarked, "While an increase in scores is, of course, important, it really doesn't matter if we're still 49th in the nation. I don't think that eight points is really worth all the excitement."
"It's really pathetic that everyone is so thrilled about this increase in scores ... ok so we're higher than Georgia. We're still less intelligent than 48 other states. That's not something to celebrate," said senior Chelsea Mylett.
The 989 average score -- a 493 verbal score and 496 math score - is still below the national average score of 1,026 -- 519 for math and 507 for verbal.
South Carolina's five-year improvement rate, however, was the best in the nation, at 38 points. The national average improvement was only 9 points.
Tenenbaum attributed the improvement to a focus on academic achievement and more challenging courses. The annual SAT team competition, an event where high school teams compete on a modified version of the test, and the PSAT also help students prepare, she said.
Freshman Paul Baker, who, as a high school student, participated in the SAT team competition, believes the program could be responsible for some of the state's improvement, but only very marginally. "I don't think it really helped my SAT scores any," he said.
Others point to an improved intervention system that reaches students earlier in their academic careers as the reason for the testing gains.
Millie Wise, director of the University's America Reads program believes her program has helped to improve test scores. "Has [America Reads] had an effect? Of course ... if a student was in the fifth grade the first year of America Reads' inception, he or she would currently be at the prime of his or her SAT-taking life," Wise argues. "And while I don't know the exact figures, there is an obvious correlation between tutoring and the recent increase of scores in the SAT. Numerous studies prove that children who have a mentor and well developed reading skills are more inclined to succeed in school and their consequent endeavors."
South Carolina has undertaken other steps to raise test scores as well. Since 1998, the state has paid for every tenth-grader to take the PSAT, a test that exposes students to SAT-style questions and serves as an early indicator for some college scholarships.
But South Carolina will have to work hard to catch up with other states. Nationally, SAT scores are rising. This year, average math and verbal SAT scores rose three points each nationally, to 519 and 507, respectively.
In recent years, the SAT has come increasingly under fire as some educators point out that the test is highly coachable and doesn't measure what kids learn in school. Some states have boosted their scores by limiting the number of test takers.
In fact, some colleges no longer require the exam of incoming students.
"Some (colleges) have cited equity issues with the SAT, either ethnicity or gender," said Bob Schaeffer, of the National Center for Fair and Open Testing, a Massachusetts-based organization opposed to standardized tests. "And the affluent, who can afford it, can be coached and increase their scores."
The exam, a rite of passage for high school students for the past 77 years, will soon undergo major revisions.
The College Board will add a writing portion to the test -- an essay students must write in 25 minutes and multiple-choice grammar questions.
The new SAT will be administered for the first time in March 2005 and will also include a revised math section that covers three years of high school math: geometry, algebra I and algebra II.
