On the same day that Washington released statewide WASL scores, the College Board released another key education indicator: national scores on the SAT college entrance exams.

“Our scores, compared to the rest of the nation, speak volumes about the quality of education students in this state are receiving,” said Terry Bergeson, state superintendent of public instruction.

Bergeson noted that Washington did better than any other state in which half or more of eligible students take the test.

Based on College Board data, that’s what’s expected. Performance is generally better in states where few students take the test.

So, for instance, Maine (with 87 percent participation) performed much worse than Idaho, which had 18 percent participation and scored well above the national average. Washington (52 percent participation) did a little better than the national average.