Cartersville Seniors Show Gains in SAT Scores

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SAT scores for Cartersville High School’s class of 2014 released this week by the College Board shows a large increase in average composite score over the previous year.

Cartersville seniors showed an increase in all three areas of the test — 14-point increase in critical reading, three-point improvement in math and 12-point gain in writing.

The composite increase of 29 points is 1464 for the 2013-14 school year, which is 19 points above the state average.

Cartersville High School’s average scores in all three component areas, compared to the state of Georgia and the country:

Critical reading (verbal)

• Cartersville: 483 (2013); 497 (2014)
• Georgia: 490 (2013); 488 (2014)
• Nation: 496 (2013; 497 (2014)

Math

• Cartersville: 486 (2013); 489 (2014)
• Georgia: 487 (2013); 485 (2014)
• Nation: 514 (2013); 513 (2014)

Writing

• Cartersville: 466 (2013); 478 (2014)
• Georgia: 475 (2013); 472 (2014)
• Nation: 488 (2013); 487 (2014)

Statetwide SAT average scores showed an overall decrease of seven points while scores on a national scale dropped overall by one point.

Cartersville City School System Assistant Superintendent Ken Clouse noted the test is not a “required assessment” for students, and the system does not ”preclude or encourage students from taking the test.”

The 2014 report shows 150 of seniors in the class of 2014 took the SAT at some point during their academic career. The number of students and which students take the test have a tremendous impact on average scores for any population, Clouse stated.

Each year, Clouse said about 65 to 70 percent of Cartersville High School seniors take the SAT test sometime during their high school years.

SAT and its counterpart, ACT, are designed as predictor tests for individual students on how well they might perform during the first year of college if they go and apply themselves to the fullest, Clouse continued. The College Board only reports average scores from the very last time seniors took the test regardless of whether those scores were the best for that student.

Additionally, many students take the SAT multiple times in order to try to improve their scores in a particular area. For example, a student might perform well in math the first time and decide to take the test again to increase his or her’s verbal score. It is feasible their math score may decline the second time around because of less focus on that portion of the test. College Board only reports the last scores and those are not necessarily the highest. Colleges use the highest scores in admission selection criteria regardless of when the test was taken.

The key to obtaining higher scores on these types of test is in preparation. Students who take a more rigorous academic path and course of study tend to perform better on SAT and ACT tests. Students selecting to take Advanced Placement courses, higher level math and science classes, and more challenging classes are going to be better prepared and consequently perform better on the SAT.

“Unfortunately, many students and parents elect a less rigorous path in high school so they can get the Georgia HOPE scholarship,” Clouse stated. “That money is great, but it doesn’t always lend itself to the best college preparation. The percentage of students that don’t maintain HOPE after a year in college should indicate something about preparation and work ethic.”

The Cartersville City School System is committed to providing the most rigorous instructional opportunities possible for all students, the assistant superintendent added. Raising the average score is a good thing public relations wise, but it is not, and should not be the major goal of a school.

“ It is like athletic scholarships,” Clouse said. “We provide opportunities for students and support those efforts; but when it is all said and done those scholarships come from the talents and skills that the individual student has developed.”