State climbs the SAT ladder

RALEIGH -- North Carolina was the butt of jokes in 1996 for having the 48th average SAT score in the nation, just three rungs from the bottom.

But the kindergartners of 1996 grew up, and their parting gift as the class of 2008 was an average SAT score of 1,007, up three points from the previous year. Now North Carolina is ranked 37th in the nation and is just 10 points below the national average -- the smallest gap ever.

"The news is positive," said state schools Superintendent June Atkinson of the new SAT results released Tuesday. "In 1998, it seemed we would never reach the national average, but the goal is now in sight."

Scores also were up for the school systems in Wake, Johnston, Orange and Chatham counties.

But scores dropped in Durham and Chapel Hill-Carrboro. There was another catch -- the percentage of students taking the SAT, the nation's most frequently used college admissions exam, dropped in several districts, including Durham, Wake and Johnston.

State education officials see the latest round of SAT results as vindication of all the emphasis since the 1990s to raise academic performance. North Carolina was last in the SAT in 1989.

North Carolina's average score has risen 31 points since 1996.

Among 21 states and the District of Columbia where at least half the seniors took the SAT, North Carolina's score ranked ninth. The states with the best scores usually have low participation rates; more of their seniors take the ACT, a rival college admissions exam.

Additionally, North Carolina now ranks above the national average on the ACT, based on results released this month.

Atkinson said scores rose in part because more students took rigorous courses. The number of students taking Advanced Placement exams jumped 6 percent in the past school year.

The results also were greeted positively in much of the Triangle.

In Wake County, the average score rose two points to 1,059. Only four much smaller school districts had a higher average score in the state.

Orange County rose three points to 1,043. Johnston County rose seven points to 1,019. Chatham County saw the biggest gain, going up 31 points to 998.

Johnston officials were particularly pleased that all seven high schools passed the 1,000 mark, said Keith Beamon, associate superintendent for curriculum and instruction.

"We think we're doing a better job of teaching math and critical reading skills and not worrying so much about the SAT," Beamon said. "If we do that, the SAT will take care of itself."

Fewer take the test

But in Wake, Johnston and Chatham, the percentage of seniors taking the SAT dropped. Wake officials were at a loss to explain their decline.

"It could be due to the economy," said David Holdzkom, Wake's assistant superintendent for evaluation and research.

Beamon said participation lags in Johnston, where less than half the seniors took the SAT. Participation is low in part because so many students there attend community college first instead of going directly to a four-year institution. Community colleges don't require an SAT score.

The state's participation rate also dropped, with 63 percent of seniors taking the SAT, down from 71 percent the previous year. But a spokesman for the College Board, which owns the SAT, said the drop was because of a revised enrollment projection for the number of graduates in the state.

The rates for individual districts are based on actual enrollment figures and not estimates.

Participation rates also dropped in Durham and Chapel Hill-Carrboro, which both saw their average scores decline.

Chapel Hill's average score fell by six points to 1,179, still the highest of any of the state's 115 school districts.

The state reported that Durham's score had dropped 16 points to 967. Durham school officials say that the figure is wrong and that the average score is 969.

Still, the drop is the biggest change Durham has seen in recent years.