Every September, the Georgia Board of Education (GADOE) releases the final numbers for that year's graduating class's performance on the SAT. For the fifth year in a row, Georgia public school students outperformed their counterparts in the nation’s public schools on the SAT with a mean score of 1052, which is 24 points higher than the national average of 1028.
While the state average has consistently outscored the national average, Cobb students have regularly scored higher than Georgia's average. Today, we are proud to announce that Cobb's Class of 2022 continued a long tradition of beating the national and state averages as well as our metro Atlanta peer school districts.
"I cannot say enough about how proud I am of our teachers and the entire Team. Despite all the uncertainties and distractions of teaching and learning in a pandemic, our teachers remained focused on what is best for students. The commitment to high-quality classroom choices, supported by our Board during the pandemic, is a primary factor that led to the highest SAT scores in the metro area. Our Team, and Board, are why Cobb remains the best place to teach, lead, and learn,“ Superintendent Chris Ragsdale praised.
With an average score of 1111 out of a possible 1600, Cobb's Class of 2022 bested the national average of 1028 by 83 points and the Georgia state average of 1052 by 59 points. They also topped Fulton County Schools (1101) by 10 points, Gwinnett Schools (1097) by 14 points, and Marietta City (1084) by 27 points.
Cobb students scored better in both individual categories of the SAT as well. They posted an average of 545 out of 800 in the math portion of the test, 38 points higher than the national average (507) and 29 points higher than the state (516). On the reading and writing portions, Cobb's Class of 2022 posted an average of 566, which is 45 points higher than the national score (521) and 30 points higher than the state (536).
Cobb Schools also had 1362 more test-takers in 2022 than in 2021, an increase of nearly 30%.
The Class of 2022 had an unusual high school experience, to say the least. The pandemic began in March 2020 and disrupted the second half of their sophomore year. In many ways, they were the class most affected by the pandemic's fallout. As the pandemic continued, Cobb Schools decided to offer each family the choice to return to face-to-face learning, or to continue in a virtual setting, a decision directly related to and supported by the 2022 SAT average.
"The Class of 2022 could have easily blamed the pandemic and coasted in their senior year, having experienced nearly two and a half years of COVID-related learning," said Cobb's School Board Chairman David Chastain. "Instead, they chose a different path and I couldn’t be prouder. These scores are encouraging, and another reason families across Georgia choose to live in Cobb. When you choose a Cobb school, you know you are getting a high-quality education and making the best decision for your family’s future."
