THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, August 23, 1996 TAG: 9608230109
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS
DATELINE: WASHINGTON LENGTH: 60 lines
Today's college-bound seniors have nearly achieved the average math score rung up by students in the early 1970s, but verbal scores on the Scholastic Assessment Test still remain well below those of 25 years ago.
Overall, the slightly higher scores reflect more students taking honors courses and classes in calculus, chemistry and physics, according to the College Board, which administers the nation's main college-entrance exam.
Test results released Thursday continue to show men outperforming women. While the women's average verbal score of 503 was only four points behind the men, their average math score of 492 trailed the male average by 35 points.
``The gap is narrowing slightly. While women are taking more science and more math courses, they haven't closed the gap yet,'' says Gretchen Rigol, the board's director of admission and guidance services.
More than 1 million students took the SAT this year. The average math score was 508, up from 506 in 1995 and just one point behind the 1972 average math score of 509.
The average verbal score was 505, up from 504 last year but still 25 points below the 1972 average of 530.
Christopher Cross, president of the Council for Basic Education, a Washington-based organization that advocates rigorous liberal arts education, said students are not asked to write enough - not only in English class, but in other classes too.
``Even though the (verbal) score has come back a point, I suspect we will never regain the level we achieved at the high point in 1972,'' Cross said.
College Board President Donald Stewart said he was puzzled about why verbal scores remained below 1970s levels. He speculated that students are watching more television, reading less and spending less time studying English.
This year's test-takers who had taken four years of English had an average verbal score of 512, while those with three years of English scored 40 points lower.
Education Secretary Richard Riley still was encouraged by the upward trend of the test results.
``SAT scores have come to be seen as a measure of the nation's educational health,'' Riley said. ``This year's annual checkup: Pulse is strong, but sustained vigorous exertion required.''
However, Robert Cohen, president of the New York-based Princeton Review, which coaches test-takers and sells test preparation materials for the SAT and other tests, dismissed the results.
``SAT scores don't tell us anything about American education,'' Cohen said.
Sixty-nine percent of college-bound students who took the 1996 SAT were white; 11 percent were black; 9 percent were Asian, Asian-American or Pacific Islander; 8 percent were Hispanic or Latino; and 1 percent were American Indian or Alaskan native.
Since 1987:
Black students raised their average verbal score by six points to 434 and their math score by 11 points to 422.
Asian-Americans increased both their average verbal and math scores by 17 points, to 496 and 558, respectively.
KEYWORDS: STANDARDIZED TESTING SAT UNITED STATES
STATISTICS by CNB