District SAT scores rise

DARLINGTON — Darlington County high school seniors improved their performance on the 2008 Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) by 60 points but still fell just short of meeting the state average, while South Carolina continues to trail the national average on the SAT, which tests students in critical reading, math and writing.

Three Darlington County School District high schools posted significant gains on the 2008 test, which many colleges and universities use as the college entrance exam, while one, Hartsville High School, saw its average composite SAT score drop by 52 points.

South Carolina high school seniors in the class of 2008 raised their average SAT scores by 2 points, the College Board said. 

Darlington County’s seniors, meanwhile, raised their composite score on the 2008 text to 1,459 in 2008 from 1,399 in 2007, just 2 points shy of the state’s average composite score and the fifth highest gain in the state among South Carolina school districts. Statewide, the average composite SAT score rose by 2 points from 2007 to 1,461. The national average composite score remained unchanged at 1,511.

Statewide, seniors scored a 488 in critical reading compared to 502 nationally, 497 in math compared to 515 nationally and 476 in writing versus 494 nationally.

Darlington County Superintendent of Education Dr. Rainey Knight welcomed word of the district’s gain but said much work remains to bring the district’s performance to the level at which it needs to be. Knight said the improvement reflects a continuing upward trend in district SAT scores in recent years as the district continues to narrow the gap between district and state averages.

“I am proud of what we’ve accomplished so far,” Knight said. “Our students have made significant increases on their SAT scores and the trend continues to move upward. While I’m very pleased and proud, I’m not satisfied. We’re moving in the right direction, but we have to move faster. For our part, we are renewing our efforts and commitment to give the students the background they need to do well.”

The district’s overall score in critical reading rose from 466 to 479 on the 2008 test, while the overall math score went from 476 to 503 and its writing score rose from 457 to 478.
Mayo High School for Math, Science and Technology exceeded both the state and national averages on the SAT, scoring a composite average of 1,610, up 125 points from the previous year’s 1,485.

Mayo students scored higher in each of the three testing areas on the SAT — critical reading, writing and math. Mayo’s score in critical reading rose from 478 to 524, while the school’s math score increased from 525 to 562 and the reading score jumped from 482 to 524.

Hartsville High School’s average composite SAT score dropped by 52 points from 1,470 in 2007 to 1,418 on the 2008 test with declines in all three testing areas.

Hartsville High’s critical reading score decreased from 497 to 463, while its math score dropped from 492 to 483 and writing dipped from 481 to 472.

At Lamar High School, the average composite score increased by 62 points from 1,334 to 1,396. Lamar High’s critical reading score jumped from 438 to 480, while its math score rose from 445 to 466, but its writing score slipped a point from 451 to 450.

At Darlington High School, seniors increased their average composite score by 10 points from 1,249 to 1,259. In critical reading, Darlington High’s score dropped from 425 to 414, while in math the score rose from 416 to 444 and in writing the score declined from 407 to 401.

The College Board, which tracks 10-year SAT trends, said South Carolina’s 34-point improvement since 1998 in reading and math (the writing test is only in its third year) remained the nation’s best among states where more than half of the high school seniors take the SAT.  Vermont was second with a 30-point improvement, while North Carolina was third with a 25-point improvement.

State Superintendent of Education Dr. Jim Rex said more students should be taking the preliminary SAT test (PSAT), which provides useful feedback to students and educators alike.

He also said students should take more rigorous courses in preparation for the SAT, pointing to the 126-point difference between 2008 South Carolina seniors who took the College Board’s recommended courses before taking the SAT and those who did not. 

“It’s important for guidance counselors to work with students and their parents to make sure that kids take high-quality courses before they take either the ACT or SAT,” Rex said.