Four Pee Dee schools among state’s top SAT performers
Three Pee Dee high schools, as well as the Governor’s School for Science and Mathematics, are among the state’s top performers for exceeding both the state and national average composite score on the SAT, according to scores released Tuesday by the state Department of Education.
The College Board also released state and national scores.
SOUTH CAROLINA 2008 SAT SCORES
SAT scores for 2008 seniors across the U.S. have been released, and results for students in the Eastern Carolinas are a mixed bag. Aynor High seniors increased their average SAT composite score by 141, according to results released by state education officials. However, Dillon High students were down 133 points. Search the database, see how your school fared. Click here to search the database.
Central High School (1,545) and Chesterfield High School (1,521) in Chesterfield County School District; Mayo High School for Math, Science & Technology (1,610) in Darlington County School District; and the Governor’s School for Science and Mathematics (2,057) in Hartsville all exceeded the state and national average composite scores of 1,461 and 1,511, respectively.
Central exceeded both the state and nation’s mean scores in critical reading, math or writing with scores of 490, 547 and 508, respectively.
The state’s scores are 488, 497 and 476 for reading, math and writing, respectively. The national mean scores for those areas are 502, 515 and 494.
Chesterfield exceeded the state and nation in math with a mean score of 568. The district tied with the state for its math mean score of 497.
“All four of my principals work very hard to prepare students for the SAT with SAT preparation classes,” Chesterfield County Superintendent Dr. John Williams said. “(In particular) Mr. (J.R.) Green has once again been very successful this year (as principal) at Central High School, so much so we have him leading our curriculum and instruction for (the district) for the coming years.
“He had gained, not only the confidence of the faculty, but of the parents and students at Central High and was able to work with all the folks in the Pageland area to increase those scores,” he said.
Green, who is now the district’s assistant superintendent for curriculum and instruction, said he was very excited about the performance of last year’s senior class and that students are encouraged to take the test for college entry at least once by their junior year. He also said he encourages all students to take more rigorous courses to be better prepared for the test.
Mayo and the Governor’s School exceeded the state and nation in its mean scores for critical reading, math and writing. Mayo’s scores were 524, 562 and 524, while the Governor’s School’s scores were 686, 690 and 681.
Darlington County School District’s average composite score of 1,459 was 2 points away from meeting the state’s average. That district exceeded the state’s mean scores for math and writing with scores of 503 and 478, respectively.
Out of 15 school districts, Darlington County is leading the Pee Dee for its average composite score. Dillon School District 3, which is based in Latta, is a close second.
Darlington County Superintendent Dr. Rainey Knight said while the district and its schools are either exceeding or meeting the state’s averages or scores, there’s still room for improvement.
“I am proud of what we’ve accomplished so far with our SAT scores,” Knight said. “Our students have made significant increases and the trend continues to move upward.
“While I’m very pleased and proud, I’m not satisfied,” she said. “We’re moving in the right direction, but we have to move faster. Our immediate goal is for our students to exceed the state average on the SAT and we believe its within their grasp to do so.”
Latta High School in Dillon 3 was 1 point shy of the nation’s mean score in math with a score of 514, but exceeded the state’s mean score.
As for district-wide scores, no Pee Dee district met or exceeded state or national average composite scores. No district met or exceeded the state’s mean reading score of 488 or the nation’s mean writing score of 494.
No scores were available for Creek Bridge High School in Marion School District 7. Only three out of 55 seniors took the test.
While four schools in the Pee Dee were top performers in the state, other schools showed significant increases.
For example, Florence School District 1 scores increased from a total score of 1,379 in 2007 to 1,383 in 2008, a difference of 4 points. South Florence High School increased 7 points, West Florence High School increased 8 points and Wilson High School decreased 7 points.
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