THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, August 24, 1995 TAG: 9508240497
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY JON GLASS, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Long : 154 lines
A Virginia high school senior with this year's average SAT score of 896 would have a tough time getting accepted into Virginia Tech or the University of Virginia, the top two colleges of choice by test takers in the Commonwealth's Class of '95.
And even if they got in, the door to some career majors - such as engineering or architecture at Virginia Tech - is likely to be nailed shut, admissions officials said.
That's the hard reality behind the latest numbers on the Scholastic Assessment Test, which university admission offices use as a barometer of a student's ability to handle college-level work.
Virginia's average overall SAT score was 14 points below the national average of 910, marking the eighth consecutive year that high schoolers in the Commonwealth have trailed their peers nationwide.
Hampton Roads' two urban districts had scores to celebrate. Norfolk officials touted the largest increase in SAT scores in a decade, with math scores up 10 points and verbal scores up 14 points - a total rise of 24 points. While Norfolk's average SAT score was 792, well below the state average, a third of the city's test takers scored above the national verbal average and right at the national math average.
In addition, Portsmouth also had a healthy increase, posting a 14-point gain in the average SAT score. Portsmouth's score was 746.
The average SAT score in Virginia hasn't topped 900 since 1989. This year, Virginia's average score was 896 - 428 on the verbal portion and 468 on math. A perfect score is 1600 points - 800 on the math and 800 on the verbal.
Virginia officials said the numbers should serve as a wake-up call that the state's public schools must improve and move beyond rhetoric to action.
``We have to remain concerned,'' said Gordon K. Davies, director of the state Council of Higher Education. ``If we're talking about Virginia being a player in the emerging knowledge industries - the IBM-Toshibas and the Motorollas that are locating in our state - we need students coming out of our high schools going to colleges to become those workers.''
Louise Dudley, director of university relations at U.Va., said, ``I would like to hope that Virginia could be one of the leaders of the nation rather than at the midpoint. . . . Maybe we should just unplug every TV set and have students reading.''
Nationwide, most students took the newly revamped SAT 1: Reasoning Test. The College Board, which sponsors the annual test, says it comes closer to measuring what kids learn in class. Students were encouraged to use calculators; solved 10 math questions without multiple-choice answers; and answered questions in the verbal section that emphasized reading comprehension.
Statewide, nearly 44,000 students - 65 percent of this year's graduates - took the test. Only nine other states had a higher participation rate, and Virginia educators attributed Virginia's lower-than-average statewide SAT score to a more diverse population of test-takers, including African-Americans and lower-income students who typically score lower.
In Virginia, 16 percent of the test-takers were black, compared to 11 percent nationwide. On the up side, that means more black students in Virginia are trying to attend college.
But the 733 average SAT score among African-Americans in Virginia - a 1-point drop from last year - shows more work is needed, officials said.
A report released today by the College Board contained some bright spots for Virginia. The average verbal score, for example, actually increased 4 points from last year and at 428 was the same as the national average.
On the math section, however, the score dropped by 1 point, and the state's score of 468 was 14 points below the national average.
Of the 12 states with at least 65 percent participation, Virginia's average SAT score was tied for seventh. Robley S. Jones, president of the Virginia Education Association, said that was significant because Virginia ranked 11th among those states in its per-pupil spending of $5,564.
``I congratulate our teachers on the scores, on the clear proof that they know how to squeeze a dime, and on the impetus this should give to Virginians to invest even more confidently in their children,'' Jones said in a statement.
Also on the encouraging side, more students than ever in Virginia are taking tougher high school courses: 34 percent enrolled in advanced English classes, up 2 percent over last year, while 24 percent took higher-level math, also up 2 percent.
In addition, more girls are taking advanced science and math classes. Of those taking the SAT, more girls than boys in the Class of '95 enrolled in calculus classes.
``I think that's a wonderful sign,'' said David Bousquet, director of undergraduate admissions at Virginia Tech. ``We need all the engineers we can get, and if more than half the population is women, we'd be well-served to get them in the field.''
Girls, however, continued to score below boys on the SAT's math section.
While considered significant, the SAT is not the only factor used in college admissions. Senior class rank, grade-point average, academic course load and extracurricular activities also are important.
But the bottom line is that a competitive score helps. At U.Va., for example, the average SAT score of last fall's freshmen class was 1217 - 644 in math and 573 in verbal. At Virginia Tech, 75 percent of last year's entering freshmen scored at least 960.
``The SATs we find to be good predictors of first-year grades,'' John A. Blackburn, U.Va's dean of admissions, said. ``There aren't many people who have an 890 that would get in here.''
Virginia Tech's Bousquet said: ``To be reasonably confident of admission, you would need a score of 1050 or above and a strong B average in a challenging program of study.''
At Old Dominion University, No. 4 on the list of colleges for Virginia test-takers, the middle 50 percent of students accepted for this fall had SAT scores between 870 and 1010.
Davies of the Council of Higher Education said students might perform better if colleges better publicized their expectations.
``My own experience,'' said Davies, ``is that students rise to the expectations if they know what they are.'' ILLUSTRATION: SAMPLE SAT QUESTION:
Graphic
[For a copy of the graphic, see microfilm for this date.]
Answer and more questions/B3
STAFF Graphic
How Virginia students fared
Average SAT scores of specific groups of students in Virginia
Category Verbal Math Total % of test takers
Males 429 488 917 46 percent
Females 428 451 879 54 percent
White 449 487 936 72 percent
African American 355 378 733 16 percent
Asian American 418 521 939 7 percent
Large city 436 482 918 14 percent
Suburban 447 496 943 42 percent
Rural 403 431 834 18 percent
Top 10th of class 522 580 1102 19 percent
* The SAT scoring scale will be ``recentered'' next year, adding
about 100 points to the average score. Results this year were scored
the same as previous years.
Where they're going
Top five colleges where Virginia's Class of '95 indicated they were
sending SAT scores
Virginia Tech 12,238 students 33.8 percent
University of Virginia 12,035 students 33.2 percent
James Madison University 11,687 students 32.2 percent
Old Dominion University 6,482 students 17.9 percent
College of William & Mary 6,473 students 17.9 percent
What's your major?
Top five career choices selected by Class of '95
Health and allied services 6,325 students 17 percent
Business and commerce 4,820 students 13 percent
Social sciences and history 4,660 students 12 percent
Education 3,066 students 8 percent
Engineering 3,177 students 8 percent
SOURCE: The College Board
KEYWORDS: SAT SCORES STANDARDIZED TESTS RESULTS by CNB