
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: THURSDAY, August 19, 1993                   TAG: 9308190069
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL                    PAGE: A-16   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: WASHINGTON                                LENGTH: Medium

SAT SCORES UP AGAIN THIS YEAR

SAT scores of college-bound seniors are up for a second straight year, after a 25-year slump in which educators declared the nation's schools in serious trouble.

The class of '93 scored an average 424 on the verbal part of the test, up a point from the average for the previous year's graduating class, while the math average was 478, up two points, the College Board reported.

At the same time, blacks - whose average scores long have lagged behind those of whites - are continuing to narrow the gap.

It was the second straight year of SAT score increases; and while that's encouraging, "academic recovery is painfully slow," said Donald Stewart, president of the board, a nonprofit education group that sponsors the test.

"Too many students are not being held to rigorous standards or exposed to a challenging curriculum," Stewart said before today's scheduled release of the scores.

Still, Education Secretary Richard Riley said he was encouraged by the results, noting that "virtually all minority groups are showing improvement in their SAT scores and the gains in various states indicate that hard work is paying off."

Asian-Americans and white students took the most classroom courses and received the highest SAT scores, while Mexican American and black students took the fewest courses and got the lowest scores. SAT scores were below the national average in large cities and rural areas, while suburban students performed above the average.

One positive sign: 42 percent of test-takers who graduated this year were carrying heavy course loads, compared with 34 percent for those who graduated in 1987.

"We think more rigorous course work is doing the job, contributing to an increase in scores," said Howard Everson, the College Board's senior research scientist.

Despite the progress, verbal scores are 39 points lower than in 1969, while math scores are behind by 15 points.

One big factor holding down SAT scores over the past 25 years is that more students - not just the cream of the academic crop - are taking the test.

by CNB