City Schools of Decatur is Georgia's Highest Performing District on SAT

Recently-released Scholastic Aptitude Test scores show Decatur High School seniors continuing to score above the state and nation. With a composite score of 1583, City Schools of Decatur had the highest system level SAT composite score (mathematics, critical reading and writing combined) in the state.

Decatur High School is the 30th highest performing high school of 414, ranking in the top 7 percent of all high schools in the state, says the school district.

“We continue to be excited about the performance of all students in Decatur,” said Superintendent Dr. Phyllis Edwards. “Closing the achievement gap and encouraging all students to take rigorous coursework continues to be a strong focus for City Schools of Decatur.”

Participation rates vary widely in Georgia high schools. Some schools have less than 40% of their students take the SAT. With its 3% increase over 2013 in participation, Decatur High School had a 98% participation rate in 2014. Trends from the past five years of performance on the SAT show Decatur High School increasing significantly in relation to Georgia and the nation in all three subject areas.

“We are very proud of the hard work from our students and teachers at Decatur High School,” said Principal Noel Maloof. “This hard work is reflected in both our scores and the increased participation rate on the SAT. We will continue to educate our students at this level and maintain our commitment to closing the achievement gap through a rigorous and supportive program.”

Critical reading is up 24 points over five years, with math and writing both being up 23 points each over five years of data. Black students at DHS are up 26 points over five years in critical reading, up 9 points over five years in math, and up 8 points over five years in writing.

“When we look at trend data from 2007-2014, this year marks our strongest performance with an overall score of 1583, with the highest participation ever,” said Director of Secondary Education Lauri McKain. “When looking at the scores over time, we have maintained our performance while driving up participation. This is due to the fact that we are working to have all students actively explore and prepare for acceptance to post secondary institutions.”

The College Board, administrator of the SAT, is a non-profit membership association whose mission is to connect students to college success and opportunity. The association is composed of more than 5,200 schools, colleges, universities, and other educational organizations. For more information, visit www.collegeboard.org.