Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, September 16, 1993 TAG: 9309160428
SECTION: NEIGHBORS PAGE: W-3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: NANCY BELL STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
"They played the first string. We played everyone," Kirby told the Salem school board.
In Salem last year, three of four seniors took the exam, which is necessary for college entrance.
The average scores of students from other school systems may have seemed higher, Kirby said, because a smaller percentage of them took the test. Salem had proportionately more students taking the test than Montgomery County, Radford, Roanoke or Roanoke County, he said.
Kirby said Radford students scored highest on SAT's last year but only 54 percent of Radford's seniors took the test while 75 percent of Salem students participated."On a level playing field . . . I think we do an excellent job in this area," Kirby said.
State-wide, about half of all high school seniors take the SAT.
In other action:
School Superintendent Wayne Tripp reported that closing one of the city's four elementary schools would be "cost shifting instead of cost saving."
Although $350,000 to $450,000 in annual operating costs would be saved, he said, more capital expenditure likely would be required in the long run to consolidate facilities without affecting services.
G.W. Carver Elementary School parents asked for immediate renovations.
Tripp, thanking parents for their patience, said he'll have an to answer to parents' concerns about Carver by the the end of the first semester.
Tripp also reported that the Salem school system has an enrollment of 3,687 students, the second highest in the 10-year history of the school system.
Memo: ***CORRECTION***