Wednesday, August 29, 2007

SAT Scores Above State Average but Fall in Math

CCPS PRESS RELEASE

Charles County Public Schools average score on the SAT, a nationally known college entrance test, is 1523, which is above state and national averages.

Students' average score in the mathematics section of the test is 507, the average score in the writing section is 504 and the average score on the critical reading portion is 512. SAT tests are designed to demonstrate a student's mastery of certain subjects to colleges. Many colleges use the test as a part of the admissions process.

Charles County's score is 25 points above the state average of 1498 and 12 points above the national average of 1511. Only scores for graduating seniors are included in the 2007 report. Students in the class of 2007 were offered more than $25 million in scholarships.

Maurice J. McDonough High School was the highest performing school with a score of 1602. La Plata High School students posted an average score of 1588 and Westlake High School students' average score is 1532. Thomas Stone students posted a 1530 average and Lackey students averaged 1393.

SAT scores decreased 14 points from 1537 the previous year, with critical reading scores remaining the same, math scores decreasing 8 points and writing scores dropping 6 points. State scores decreased 13 points, from 1511 to 1498, and national scores dropped 7 points, from 1518 to 1511.

"This year's scores continue our trend of remaining above the state and national averages, which is our ultimate goal and exceeds the benchmark set by the county. Remaining above the state and national averages enables our college-bound students to compete for acceptance into the college or university of their choice. This is the eighth consecutive year that our students have outpaced these averages, and I commend the students and staff at the high schools for their continued efforts in this area. We know that scores are going to fluctuate from year to year, but it is imperative that we continue to offer a strong academic program and consistent SAT preparation courses," said Superintendent James Richmond.

This year, Charles County Public Schools is providing all high school students access to the Official SAT Online Course, which can be used as a classroom teaching aid, a component of English and math courses, a test-preparation resource or an independent study tool. School staff will help students set up an account and profile this school year. Students may access the program from home after they have created their profile.

The online course is an addition to other in-school preparation programs, including workshops with nationally known experts, summer and after-school review programs and in-class preparation by teachers.

Click HERE for an article in the Baltimore Sun regarding the fall in Math scores.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Johns Hopkins mathematics professor W. Stephen Wilson said his experience in the university classroom shows that there is ample room for improvement across all strata of students.

"I gave my calculus tests from 1989 to my calculus students last year," he said, and found the 1989 Arts and Sciences freshmen to have been "vastly superior" despite the increases in Hopkins' selectivity since then.

"Something is wrong with K-12 math education," Wilson said, "when you can't fill out the elite schools with people who can do basic math well enough."
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I think that this professor should have called a spade a spade.

Bragging about being above the "State Average" but yet, these scores will NEVER get you into a decent four year university.

On top of that, who do we have at the head of these elementary schools, being released for immoral behavior?

This kind of hogwash and leadership is destroying our local schools, and we need to put a stop to it.

Hiring brand new teachers year after year is destroying our children. Because of the poor working conditions, the teachers leave within a year or two. It is so important to have good role models for our young children in elementary school. We cannot have adults goofing around and having the children see "these people" as role models. What the heck is going on here?


Our children have another batch of new teachers, little of them have the expertise in the subject matter.

Thank heaven above for national standardized testing. We can't live in a fishbowl and compare our scores to the rest of the socialist State of Maryland.

Anonymous said...

Doesn't the school board hire "experts" to throw hail Mary's at the last minute to the students in the Charles County Schools?

Doesn't the school system offer SAT classes to anyone wanting to take the
SAT?

Then why are the scores stagnant or falling?

Why isn't there any strong cries, by either the media or the people on the school board, for change in the instruction in the schools by
the administration and more strict guidelines to monitoring the competency of the teachers?

We need it big time.