PW Students' SAT Scores Below State Average; School Board Concerned

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Associate Superintendent of Student Learning & Accountability Timothy L. Healey confirmed Wednesday evening that students in the district are scoring lower than state averages on the SAT.

During the Nov. 7  meeting, Prince William County School Board members received a presentation on the “Strategic Plan Report,” which included a comparison of Prince William County students against all students on the state and national level.

While Prince William students score slightly above state and national averages in most measures, their combined SAT scores fell short of those averages. Prince William SAT scores were consistently 9-23 points below national and  13-34 points below state  averages, during the past five years.

However, while national averages also showed a steady decline in that last five years, Prince William scores peaked in 2009-10 and then fell back to numbers just slightly above their 2007-08 averages.

Coles District Representative Dr. Michael Otaigbe asked Healey what specific steps the administration is taking to improve SAT scores throughout the county.

Healey responded that the SAT scores are a “complicated situation,” but explained to the School Board that Prince William Schools has enacted new initiatives to improve SAT scores last year. These included paying for high school students’ access to SAT online practice tests and for all tenth and eleventh graders to take the PSAT.

The schools also invited the College Board to talk with teachers about the students’ PSAT scores and how to use the data more effectively.

In response to Dr. Otaigbe’s inquiry if SAT practice should be a requirement, Healey said according to the research, such actions would be unlikely to provide measurable results.

“It may not have the quick fix we are trying to get, but really that’s the long-term strategy,” Healey said. “The exposure to upper level course work and vigorous course work will pay off the most.”

While Otaigbe praised Algebra I programs taught to seventh graders in the district, Healey cautioned against pushing advanced math courses too aggressively, saying it would be detrimental for students who are not intellectually ready for the course work.

Healey said that 60 percent of students took the SATs last year; however, he did not have the statistics regarding the average percentage of Virginia students who take the SAT.

However, Healey said that if students were scoring below average, because more were taking the test, then that would still be a positive for the students.

All board members seemed to agree that any effort to bring scores up would be advantageous for students, since it is an important factor in securing entrance to a competitive college.

“I know the SAT's are so competitive for colleges and our students getting into colleges; they do well, but we want them to do better.," Potomac District Representative Betty D. Covington said. "I’m sure you all are taking a look at that, because this data says we need to look at that.”

However, Healey also cautioned about overloading eleventh grade teachers.

“Eleventh grade year is the bullseye year in the class. It is also a bullseye year for a lot of other things,” Healey said.

Brentsville District Board representative Gil Trenum requested that Healey also look into ways in which students can improve their ACT scores, since those are becoming more popular among students nationwide.

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