Gains Encouraging

Sat., Sept. 2, 2000

By Jackie Van Allen jackiev@spokesman.com

Scores are higher in the 2000 Scholastic Assessment Test, with scores in Washington and Idaho above the national average.

Nationally, the math scores have reached a 30-year high.

Teachers, parents and students all deserve credit for the improved scores.

Nationally, the average verbal score was 505. Washington students scored 526 and Idaho students scored 540 on the verbal portion.

Nationally, the average math score was 514. Washington students scored 528 and Idaho students scored 541 on the math portion.

The numbers between Idaho and Washington are not really comparable. In Idaho, less than 20 percent of graduates take the SAT. In Washington, the percentage is closer to 40 percent.

At District 81, the average verbal score was 530. The score is eight points higher than 1998-99. The average math score was 528.

At Central Valley School District, the average verbal score was 522, a record high. The score is five points higher than 1998-99. The district’s average math score was 526.

Nationally, the verbal scores are far below the levels of 30 years ago. But in Washington, the average verbal score has risen seven points since 1995.

Nationally, the average math score gap between boys and girls has also narrowed, with this year’s difference only 35 points.

It will be interesting to see if the Washington Assessment of Student Learning test will have any impact on future SAT scores. The WASL is a required test given to students at grades four, seven and 10. Schools say the WASL testing has helped them to set clear goals and objectives for students. It seems these clear objectives can only help students taking the SAT.

The SAT has its critics. They say you can’t compare scores from 30 years ago with those of today. However, in 1994, the scoring was adjusted to more closely reflect the greater percentage of students taking the test.

SAT critics also say the testing is ethnically biased because higher scores do not reflect the widening gap between white and minority students’ scores.

Even if the numbers are different from those of 30 years ago, the three-decade decline in verbal scores should be of continuing concern. Television and computers have replaced a great deal of reading time. The verbal portion of the SAT relies on verbal reasoning, shades of meaning and subtle differences. Reading is a necessary part of understanding those differences.

In spite of all the number wrangling, the recent upward trend in the SAT scores should be encouraging to everyone.

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