COLUMBIA — The average SAT scores for South Carolina’s graduating seniors rose slightly but still trailed the national average, according to results released Tuesday.

 

The state’s ranking — historically near the bottom nationally — moved up one notch to 48th, followed by Hawaii, Maine and the District of Columbia.

 

The state’s class of 2008 scored 488 out of a possible 800 on the SAT’s critical reading section, the same as last year. Math scores increased by one point to 497, and writing increased by one point to 476.

 

The combined score of 1,461 is 50 points lower than the national average. Nationwide, average scores were unchanged for all three sections: 502 in reading, 515 in math, and 494 in writing.

 

The writing section was added to the SAT as part of a 2006 redesign. But many colleges are waiting for several years of data before factoring that subject into admissions decisions.

 

State schools Superintendent Jim Rex said that while South Carolina students aren’t progressing fast enough, the good news is that the state’s still a national leader in SAT improvement. Since 1998, math and reading scores have improved by 34 points. That’s the biggest jump for states where more than half of seniors take the SAT.

 

South Carolina’s SAT score has long been at or near the bottom and is often tossed around in debates on school vouchers and political campaigns.

 

The College Board, which administers the test, discourages comparisons because the percentage of students who take the test vary widely state-to-state. Participation ranges from 3 percent to 87 percent.

 

In the Palmetto State, 61 percent of graduating seniors — 23,066 students — took the test. That’s a one-percentage-point drop from last year, caused by 1,015 fewer test-takers.

 

Rex said he’s unsure whether that’s a blip or due to more students taking the ACT college entrance exam. Traditionally, the SAT has been more popular in South Carolina.

 

Nationally, it was the second year in a row that scores remained at the lowest level in nearly a decade.

 

College Board officials said the growing number of test takers was largely responsible. A record 1.52 million students across the nation took the test this year. Minority students accounted for 40 percent of test takers and 36 percent of those tested were the first in their families to attend college.

 

In South Carolina, Rex said he hopes an increase in counselors, being phased in over two years following a 2005 state law, will help boost test scores as they work with students and encourage them to take rigorous courses.

 

Broken down by race, 64 percent of South Carolina’s test-takers were white and scored an average of 1,541; 24 percent were black, with an average score of 1,250.

 

The president of a group pushing school vouchers pointed to the SAT scores, and the widening achievement gap among races, and again called for legislators to help parents send children to private school. The idea has failed repeatedly in the state House over the last few years and divided Republicans.

 

“Stagnant public school scores on the ACT and SAT are just one of the many indicators of a total failure by government schools,” said Randy Page of South Carolinians for Responsible Government.

 

Rex said the achievement gap is disappointing and reflects a difference between poorer and more affluent students, rather than race. He contends that helping some students afford private school won’t fix the problem. In South Carolina, poverty and race are closely linked.

 

By income, 12 percent of students who took the test lived in a household where parents made less than $20,000 a year and their average combined reading, math and writing score was 1,248. At the other end of the spectrum, 4 percent of test-takers lived in a household with an income of more than $200,000 and their average was 1,598.

 

“Poverty’s pervasive, and this achievement gap gets tougher to deal with” in the economic downturn, Rex said from Denver, where the Democratic National Convention is meeting.

 

Rex said he’s encouraged by the state’s improvements in Advanced Placement tests, also released Tuesday.

 

An all-time high of 15,362 tests received at least a 3 on a 5-point scale, earning college credit. That’s up 3 percent from last year. The total tests taken also increased, by 755 exams to 26,872. Some students take more than one test.

 

Over the last five years, the number of exams taken by black students have increased 46 percent to 2,258, while the number scoring high enough to earn college credit increased by 25 percent to 620.

 

“We need to replicate these dramatic AP achievement gap successes in other areas,” Rex said.

“We need to focus on approaching every class the way we’re approaching AP classes — with quality teachers, top-notch teacher training, clearly understood goals and high expectations for kids.”

 

You must be logged in to comment.