NC SAT scores: addition by subtraction?

I’ve been gone for most of the past couple of weeks, so I’m still catching up on the news. One item that caught my eye was the recent release of SAT scores for North Carolina students.

Average combined scores for North Carolina students jumped 10 points over last year to 1479. The national average combined score is 1498. SAT  scores combine average reading, math and writing scores.

The average critical reading score for North Carolina students improved to 495, four points higher than the previous year. Math scores remained at 506 . The average writing score improved six points to 478.  All good news, especially considering over 50,300 students took the exam.

What accounts for the improvement?  It”s hard to say. About 8 percent fewer students took the SAT this year than the previous year.  In 2012, a new state law required  all high school juniors to take the ACT as part of the state’s new accountability model.  The change allows high school students to take college admission tests without having to incur the additional expenses. Practically speaking it also  reduced the potential pool of SAT applicants in what has been known as a SAT state.  Is the jump traceable a smaller pool of test-takers?  Who knows.  I’d be happy to see the trend-line continue and be proved wrong.

2013 SAT Scores
	Ave. Reading	Ave. Math	Ave. Writing	Total
North Carolina	495	506	478	1478
United State	496	514	488	1498

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