SAT Scores Stable, Racial

And Gender Gaps Persist

By John Christoffersen

Associated Press

HARTFORD – High school students’ performance on the SAT remained strong this year in Connecticut, but a persistent gap in scores across racial and gender lines is causing concern.

The state’s average score of 1017 was down two points from last year and the prior year, when students recorded the highest scores in a decade, the state Department of Education announced Tuesday.

While the scores are close to recent state highs, they are two points short of the national average, 1019.

The Scholastic Assessment Test is a key indicator for college admission. The maximum score is 1,600 – 800 in each of the math and verbal sections.

The average math score of 509, unchanged from last year, continued a 28-year high, officials said. The average verbal score of 508 was down two points from last year, when a 10-year high was set.

Connecticut had the nation’s highest participation rate. More than 80 percent of the state’s students took the standardized test.

“This is what all states strive for – high numbers of students taking the test and aspiring to higher education combined with overall strong performance,” said state Education Commissioner Theodore S. Sergi.

But there remains a gap between the scores of black and Hispanic students compared to white and Asian students. That gap reflects the economic conditions and disparities in the state, officials said.

“When we look closely at the performance of students grouped by family income, parents’ education, race and gender, we continue to see significant need for improvement,” Sergi said.

Sergi said more students should take the practice SAT. Suburban students are preparing for and taking the PSAT at a much higher rate than urban students, officials said.

Sergi also said local school boards need to address the achievement gap, perhaps by focusing on students below the poverty level and setting expectations at an early age that they will attend college.

“The gap persists and it needs direct attention,” Sergi said. “It has to be done with a focus.”

Black students had an average score of 837, up 11 points from last year and the highest scores since they were first recorded in 1976. But that average is more than 200 points below the average scores of whites (1052) and Asians (1073).

Hispanic students had an average score of 876, down eight points from the prior year.

The gender gap also continues, with math scores for girls 32 points below boys. Verbal scores were only one point apart.

Educators are more perplexed by the gender gap in math, said Tom Murphy, education department spokesman. Part of the reason may be expectations, Murphy said, noting that girls traditionally were not directed to math and science.

In the earlier grades, girls outperform boys in writing, officials said.