
DATE: Wednesday, August 27, 1997            TAG: 9708270569

SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B1   EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA 

SOURCE: BY PAUL SOUTH, STAFF WRITER 
                                            LENGTH:   98 lines

DARE OUTSCORES NATION AND STATE ON SAT AVERAGE SCORE OF 1,028 IS 59 POINTS ABOVE LAST YEAR'S RESULTS FOR COUNTY

Dare County students scored higher than the state and national averages, and ranked eighth statewide in Scholastic Assessment Test results for 1997.

SAT scores, a national measuring stick for college-bound students, were released Tuesday by the state Department of Public Instruction.

The examination measures a student's reasoning, verbal and math skills against those needed to be successful in freshman college course work.

Dare students scored an average of 1,028 on the SAT, 12 points higher than the national average of 1,016 and 50 points higher than the North Carolina average. Dare County also had the highest percentage of eligible students taking the test in North Carolina - 88.2 percent.

Elsewhere in the Albemarle, only one other system, Tyrrell County, exceeded the national average. Eighteen students scored an average of 523 on math and 504 on verbal for a composite average of 1,027. Less than half of students eligible - 45 percent - took the SAT in Tyrrell County.

Currituck County students surpassed the state average with an average score of 979. Seventy-seven students - 45.8 percent of those eligible - scored a 488 average in math, 491 on verbal.

Nationally, students scored an average of 511 on verbal, a three-point increase from 1996. The U.S. average in verbal scores stayed the same at 505.

North Carolina's scores improved by two points in mathematics to 488. Verbal scores remained the same at 490, for a composite 978, 48th among the 50 states and the District of Columbia.

The highest possible score on the test is 1,600.

``I'm elated,'' said Dare County Superintendent Leon Holleman. ``The focus our K-12 staffs have placed on maintaining our math strengths and improving our verbal skills is beginning to pay dividends.''

The Dare County system renewed emphasis on vocabulary four years ago, Holleman said.

``That really made a difference,'' Holleman said. ``Our teachers did a great job.''

The school district's participation also increased from a year ago. Last year, 144 students took the test, or 79.1 percent. The average score for those students was 969, 59 points lower than this year.

``That's what makes this so amazing,'' Holleman said. ``Not only did our scores increase, but our participation increased by almost 10 percent.''

Assistant Superintendent Ken Wells said the increase in participation, combined with a scoring improvement, came as a surprise.``What's remarkable is that so many students took the test, and still scored so well,'' Wells said. ``That goes against the testing odds.''

Here is a look at other Albemarle area schools:

Bertie County: 110 students took the test, scoring an average 426 on math and 408 verbal, a composite 834.

Camden County: Forty-four students, 62 percent of those eligible took the exam, scoring a composite 894. Camden students averaged 442 in math and 452 on the verbal portion of the SAT.

Chowan: Forty-one students, 33.6 percent of those eligible, scored 461 in math, 480 on verbal for an overall average of 941.

Gates: Students scored an overall average of 902 - 444 on math, 458 on verbal. Forty-eight students, 51.6 percent of those eligible, took the exam.

Hertford: Ninety-eight students - 41.2 percent - scored an average 411 on math, 422 on verbal, for 833.

Hyde: Twenty-nine students scored an average 857 on the SAT. Sixty-three percent of eligible students took the test, scoring an average 429 on math, 428 on the verbal portion.

Pasquotank: Students scored an average 918 - 454 on the math portion, 464 on verbal. Some 155 students - 60.3 percent of those eligible - took the test.

Perquimans: Forty-three students - 34.7 percent - took the test. Students scored 465 on math, 488 in verbal, an average 953.

Washington: Eighty-four students took the test, 53.2 percent of those eligible. On the math section, they averaged 421 in math, 400 on verbal for a composite 821.

A breakdown of statewide results indicates that students who take more than the minimum number of courses required for graduation scored higher on the SAT. Nationally, analysts say, scores are going up because students are taking more rigorous math and science courses. More students are also taking college level advanced placement courses.

In North Carolina, students who took calculus scored an average combined score of 1,156.

Critics of the SAT say testing officials bury evidence of gender and racial bias. Young women make up the majority of those taking the test, comprising 55.5 percent of test-takers. ILLUSTRATION: Graphic

THE SAT

The examination measures a student's reasoning, verbal and math

skills against those needed to be successful in freshman college

course work. SAT scores were released Tuesday by the state

Department of Public Instruction.

Dare County also had the highest percentage of eligible students

taking the test in North Carolina - 88.2 percent.

Elsewhere in the Albemarle, only one other system, Tyrrell County,

exceeded the national average. Eighteen students scored an average

of 523 on math and 504 on verbal for a composite average of 1,027.

Less than half of students eligible - 45 percent - took the SAT in

Tyrrell County. KEYWORDS: STANDARDIZED TESTING TEST SCORES SAT