Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, August 24, 1995 TAG: 9508240073
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JOEL TURNER STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
But the widening gap between state and national scores on the math part of the test is a cause for concern, said the State Council of Higher Education's chief of academic affairs, Margaret Miller.
Virginia students' average combined math and verbal score on the Scholastic Assessment Test rose three points.
But it was 14 points below the national average, which increased by eight points this year.
The average for state students was 896 of a possible 1,600 - 428 on the verbal part of the test, 468 on math.
Nationally, the combined average was 910 - 428 verbal, 482 math.
Virginia's average verbal score climbed four points this year. The average math score dipped one point. Those changes aren't statistically significant, Miller said.
Virginia's scores on both parts of the SAT were lower than a decade ago.
The results in Western Virginia school systems were mixed, and some localities said Wednesday that they had not received their scores or no one was available to provide the results.
The College Board, which administers the SAT, sends the scores to the school divisions and releases only state and national scores.
Based on the results that were available, the scores for three school systems in Western Virginia were above the national average: Craig County, Radford and Salem.
The average combined scores in Bedford, Franklin and Giles counties and Roanoke were below the national average.
Miller said the state Board of Education has adopted new academic standards for math and English that should help improve the SAT scores.
"Hopefully, the new standards will help," she said, ``but it will take time. It won't happen suddenly.''
Nationally, this year's math score continued its 14-year rise, to 482 out of a possible 800. The average verbal score rose by five points, reaching nearly the same level that it was a decade ago.
Both trends are favorable, especially considering the growth in the percentage of students taking the exam, said Donald Stewart, president of the College Board.
In 1980, 33 percent of high school seniors took the SAT. That has increased to 41 percent. In Virginia, nearly two-thirds of seniors take the exam, one of the higher rates in the nation. In some states, only 4 percent of seniors take the exam.
Average scores tend to drop when the percentage taking the test increases.
A new scoring system has been adopted for the SAT that will produce higher scores, but it won't be used until next year.
Boys' scores remained higher than girls' this year, but the gap has narrowed to 3 points on the verbal section and 40 points on math, Stewart said. In the past, the gap had been as high as 13 points verbal and 52 points math.
Average scores of minority students rose two to seven points on verbal and increased three to six points on math for all groups except blacks and Puerto Ricans, Stewart said.
SAT averages were below the national average in large cities and rural areas, Stewart said.
by CNB