Press Release

STATEMENT REGARDING SCORES: Several districts in the metro area have expressed concern about the accuracy of the scores being reported by the College Board to the schools and districts. Our Accountability Office is currently in the process of verifying scores and calculations for each school and the district and, if discrepancies exist, will post corrected scores on the district web site within the next few days.

Cobb SAT Scores Continue to Top State, Nation

Cobb County’s senior class of 2008 weathered a 10-point drop in their average SAT scores by still outperforming their peers across the state and nation. According to recently released scores, this year’s graduating class in Cobb had an overall average (Reading, Math, Writing) of 1524, which was 10 points lower than the class of 2007, but still beat the national average by 13 points and the state average by 58 points.

National scores in the three areas tested, Reading, Math and Writing, were unchanged. State scores declined in all three areas. In Cobb County, Reading scores declined by 4 points, while Math and Writing each dropped 3 points.

Fewer seniors took the SAT this year than last year, decreasing the percentage of participants to 77 percent from last year’s 80 percent (See Table I). One possible explanation for the decline in SAT takers is that more seniors this year took the alternative ACT college preparation test. A recent release of Cobb County ACT scores indicated that participation on that test had increased three percentage points to 39 percent of Cobb seniors – the highest percentage of ACT takers in recent history.

On this year’s SAT, seven of Cobb’s 14 high schools had combined totals higher than the national average of 1511. Kell High School had the biggest gain by posting an average score of 1537, which is a 23-point improvement over 2007, and 26 points higher than the national average. Scores for Pope and Walton high schools each were up by more than 10 points over 2007. Those two schools combined with Lassiter High School top the national average by an average of 153 points.

“I don’t like to see our scores drop,” said Superintendent Fred Sanderson, “but I am most concerned about ensuring that Cobb County students get the preparation they need to be successful in college. The SAT is a college preparation test, and when you compare our seniors’ scores to their peers across the nation, our students continue to excel. We want our students to stay ahead, so we have taken steps to see that a greater number of high school students are exposed to more rigorous AP classes. And thanks to the support of the Board of Education and the Chamber of Commerce, Project 2400 is a growing program that will help our students succeed in the future by providing intense preparation for the SAT.”

Beginning in 2007, the Cobb County School District, in cooperation with the Cobb Chamber of Commerce, implemented Project 2400, an SAT preparation program targeting 11th grade students. Approximately 10 percent of the Class of 2009 participated in the program last spring.

"The number of participants in the Project 2400 program increased from 206 in 2007 to 510 in 2008,” said Robert Benson, Assistant Superintendent of Curriculum and Instruction. “As a district, we are certainly encouraged since the SAT scores of our Project 2400 participants of 2008 were on average 38 points higher than the scores for participants of 2007. Planning is under way to continue Project 2400 in the spring of 2009 for our high school juniors.”

Scores of the 2008 class of Project 2400 are not included in this year’s SAT report since those students were juniors at the time they took the test. Their scores will be included in next year’s SAT report.

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 that requires them to take a position on an issue and 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, 5,422 students out of 7,086 graduating seniors, or 77 percent, took the SAT at least once during their four years of high school. In contrast, only 45 percent took the test nationally. This represents an overall decline in participation by graduating seniors nationwide.

Many factors affect SAT scores from year to year, including the percentage of students taking the test, 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 to help make the best use of test results.

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.

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