THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, August 25, 1994 TAG: 9408250592
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A10 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS
DATELINE: WASHINGTON LENGTH: Short : 43 lines
Girls are narrowing the gap with boys on the SAT college entrance exam, but they're still far behind in math. Neither sex is gaining much ground in reading - possibly because so many young people prefer TV to books.
The nation's average score on the verbal part of the Scholastic Assessment Test dropped one point this year, to 423, despite a slight gain in girls' verbal scores, test officials announced Wednesday.
``Young people just don't read much anymore,'' English teacher Shirley Rau said.
In math, the average score improved one point from last year, to 479, propelled by girls' improvement.
In Virginia, the verbal score dropped a point, to 424, while the math score stayed the same: 469.
In North Carolina, the verbal score dropped one point to 405; math scores rose two points, to 455.
``Women, happily, are closing the score gap with men,'' said Donald M. Stewart, president of the College Board, the nonprofit group that sponsors the tests.
Stewart called the overall trend favorable, noting that the percentage of high school seniors who take the test is growing. As the pool of test-takers grows, scores would be expected to drop, he said.
Boys' scores did drop this year in both sections of the SAT, which was taken by more than a million college-bound high school seniors. It is scored on a scale of 200 to 800.
The gap between girls and boys also narrowed this year on the other major admissions test, the American College Testing assessment..
KEYWORDS: SAT COLLEGE ENTRANCE EXAM STANDARDIZED TEST
SCHOLASTIC APTITUDE TEST SCHOLASTIC ASSESSMENT TEST
by CNB