Press Release

Slight Decline in Cobb SAT Scores Mirrors State, Nation
Some schools up; District increases margin over national average

Cobb County’s senior class of 2007 scored significantly higher than their state and national peers on the SAT test for college readiness. Despite a drop of four points in the District average, this year’s graduating class in Cobb had an overall average score (Reading, Math, Writing) of 1534 and beat the state average by 62 points and the national average by 23 points. More seniors took the SAT this year than last year, increasing the percentage of participants to 80 percent, well above the state average of 70 percent and the national average of 48 percent (See Table I).

Nationally, scores declined in all three areas tested. The national average for Reading fell from 503 to 502, in Math from 518 to 515, and in Writing from 497 to 494. The state average stayed the same in Reading at 494, but dropped in Math from 496 to 495, and in Writing from 487 to 483. Cobb’s average in Reading fell from 517 to 515, stayed the same in Math at 517, and dropped in Writing from 504 to 502. This is the second year students have been tested in the Writing category, and Cobb students topped the state average by 19 points and the national average by 8 points.

Seven of Cobb’s 14 high schools had combined totals higher than the national average of 1511. Scores for Lassiter, Pope, and Walton high schools were more than 100 points higher than the national average. Particularly noteworthy were the performances of students at Campbell High School and Osborne High School. These schools showed significant increases in their average scores. Campbell’s combined Reading and Math total jumped from 953 in 2006 to 987 this year. Osborne had similar results, climbing from 835 in 2006 to 860 this year.

“We would prefer to see our scores increase, not decline,” said Fred Sanderson, Superintendent of Cobb Schools, “but the drop-off is consistent with what happened nationwide. Overall, there is a lot of good news in this report. Our district scores are well above the national average and our students widened the gap again this year. That sends a message to our community that Cobb students are prepared for college work and can compete at the college level with students from across the nation. I am also pleased to see the big jump in scores at Osborne and Campbell high schools. Those schools have worked very hard to prepare students to take the SAT, and the efforts seem to be paying off.”

The SAT is one way to predict a student’s potential for success in the first year of college and is required for admission to most colleges and universities. The three broad academic areas included in the assessment are Reading, Math, and Writing. The Writing section of the test asks students to write an essay taking a position on an issue. They are asked to use reasoning and examples to support their position. The Math section of the test includes topics from third-year college-preparatory math, such as exponential growth, absolute value, functional notation, and negative and fractional exponents. The Critical Reading section, previously known as the Verbal section, includes short and long reading passages. Analogies were eliminated, but sentence-completion questions remain.

High school students take the SAT test voluntarily. In Cobb, 5,217 students out of 6,508 graduating seniors, or 80 percent, took the SAT at least once during their four years of high school. In contrast, only 48 percent took the test nationally. Generally a higher percentage of students taking the test results in a lower mean score.

Many factors affect SAT scores from year to year, including the percentage of students taking the test (scores tend to fall as percentages rise), student academic preparation, knowledge of English, parents’ education, and locality. Cobb information shows that the higher the grades and rank-in-class achieved, generally the higher the mean SAT scores.

Parents who desire more information about their student’s SAT scores should contact counselors in the local high school who can provide proper interpretation and help make the best use of test results. The change in the SAT format has led some colleges and universities to change their admissions policies on SAT Subject Tests beginning with the class of 2007. Seniors who took the SAT prior to March of 2007 should contact institutions to which they are applying to find out if admission policies have changed.

Individual school SAT scores are listed in Table II. A comparison of changes to the new SAT can be found in Attachment I.

Download this Press Release with Data Tables in Adobe PDF format.