WCPSS Students' 2008 Scores Increase on SAT
August 26, 2008 - SAT scores for 2007-08 Wake County Public School System seniors increased while results at the state and national levels held steady. This year, WCPSS seniors averaged 541 on math, 518 on critical reading and 506 on writing. The combined average score is 1565.In 2006-07, WCPSS seniors averaged 538 on math, 519 on critical reading and 505 on writing. The combined average score was 1562.
 Assistant Superintendent David Holdzkom and Fuquay Varina High principal Edward McFarland talk with reporters about the SAT. |
Listen to Edward McFarland talk about his school's success on the SAT 4 minute mp3 file |
WCPSS compared to state and nation
The WCPSS average score of 1565 compares with an average score of 1511 in the U.S. and an average score of 1489 in North Carolina. The WCPSS average score is 54 points higher than the US average and 76 points higher than the North Carolina average.
When looking at the combined math and critical reading scores, the WCPSS average score was 1059, compared with an average score of 1017 in the U.S. and 1007 in North Carolina. The WCPSS average score is 42 points higher than the US average and 52 points higher than the North Carolina average.
WCPSS participation remained high with 73 percent of students taking the exam. That’s down from 79 percent last year. The WCPSS participation remains higher than the North Carolina participation rate of 63 percent and the U.S. participation rate of 45 percent.
WCPSS and other North Carolina school systems
The average SAT score for Wake seniors in 2008 was 1565. WCPSS scores were significantly higher than similar large North Carolina school districts. Forsyth students’ scores averaged 1497; Charlotte Mecklenburg, 1489; Guilford, 1471; and Cumberland, 1399.
When looking at the combined math and critical reading scores, the WCPSS average score was 1059, compared with an average score of 1009 in Forsyth; 1006 in Charlotte/Mecklenburg; 991 in Guilford; and 946 in Cumberland.
WCPSS had 5,611 test takers, more than other school districts. Charlotte Mecklenburg had 4,656; Guilford, 2,984; and Forsyth, 1,997. WCPSS had a participation rate of 73 percent, higher than similar large North Carolina school districts. Charlotte Mecklenburg had 68 percent; Guilford, 65 percent and Forsyth, 64.5 percent
Four WCPSS high schools score above 1600
Enloe High had the highest average score of WCPSS high schools with a score of 1748. Three other schools had average scores above 1600 including Green Hope at 1677, Apex at 1647 and Broughton at 1602. Students at Cary and Leesville Road were close to 1600. Cary students had an average of 1598; Leesville Road, 1597.
In the writing section, Enloe had the highest average score of WCPSS high schools at 574. Green Hope had 543, Apex had 531 and Broughton had 524. In the critical reading section, Enloe had the high average score of 580. Green Hope had 546; Apex had 543; and Broughton had 530. In the math section, Enloe had the high average score of 594. Green Hope averaged 588 and Apex, 573.
Four schools had average test results that increased by more than 20 points. The school average increased by 43 points at Green Hope, 31 points at Apex, 27 points at Enloe and 23 points at Middle Creek.
Student participation rates were highest at Broughton, 91.2 percent and Green Hope, 88.9 percent. More than 80 percent of students at Apex, Enloe and Leesville Road took the SAT. Overall, WCPSS participation was down slightly to 73 percent for 2007-08, compared with 79 percent the previous year.
Principals discuss SAT preparations
At Enloe, scores increased 14 points on the math section and 10 points on the writing section. Principal Beth Cochran says the school has a range of rigorous courses that expose students to high levels of critical thinking.
“As a result, many of our students who may not be labeled academically gifted still choose to take increasingly challenging courses because they hear from other students that they are safe places to be, said Cochran. “This open door policy that searches for the gifts and talents of all students often results not only in large numbers of students taking national tests such as the SAT and AP, but also in their achieving high scores.”
At Middle Creek, scores increased 23 points on the math section and overall. Principal John Williams says the school encouraged students to take more rigorous courses.
“We did not use any bells, whistles, smoke, or mirrors,” said Williams. “We did implement strategies to increase the engagement of all students in rigorous and relevant course work last year. One might say that we applied wall-to-wall academic rigor, much like the installation of new and thick carpet.”
Williams says credit for the success on the SAT can often be attributed to decisions and efforts that begin in the sixth grade, and parents contribute to the preparation of our students long before then.
At Fuquay-Varina High, scores increased 27 points on the math section and 16 points overall. Principal Edward McFarland says the school has worked on strengthening instruction and meeting students’ needs.
“We’ve worked on differentiated instruction so that teachers work to meet each student where they are and help them improve academically,” said McFarland. “We’re offering after school tutoring and have begun a Saturday Academy that students attend to boost their academics.”
McFarland said the school held an SAT preparation night for students and their parents to better understand the structure and language used in the exam and to give parents and students a chance to try out questions from the exam.
SAT
The SAT is a national exam offered through the College Board. The exam is designed to measure a student's chance of success at the college level.
This is the third year of the three-section SAT with math, critical reading and writing
The writing section includes an essay and multiple-choice questions on writing. The critical reading section is different from the old verbal section. The analogies section has been dropped and a new sentence completion section has been added. While the analogies section was eliminated, analogical reasoning was not; questions of this nature are imbedded in the short reading passages. In the math section, Algebra II content was added and quantitative comparisons were eliminated.
The College Board has maintained a scoring system of a total of 800 points per section. On the two sections of the old test, a perfect score would have been 1600. Students can now score up to 800 on each of three sections, or a perfect score of 2400.
Part. |
Math |
Reading |
Combined |
Writing |
Combined |
|
| Apex | 81.6 |
573 |
543 |
1116 |
531 |
1647 |
| Athens Drive | 77.4 |
553 |
518 |
1071 |
505 |
1576 |
| Broughton | 91.2 |
548 |
530 |
1078 |
524 |
1602 |
| Cary | 74.3 |
558 |
529 |
1087 |
511 |
1598 |
| East Wake | 45.6 |
468 |
450 |
918 |
434 |
1352 |
| Enloe | 84.9 |
594 |
580 |
1174 |
574 |
1748 |
| Fuquay Varina | 59.2 |
524 |
503 |
1027 |
481 |
1508 |
| Garner | 49.0 |
471 |
461 |
932 |
440 |
1372 |
| Green Hope | 88.9 |
588 |
546 |
1134 |
543 |
1677 |
| Knightdale | 62.8 |
463 |
455 |
918 |
436 |
1354 |
| Leesville Road | 80.8 |
555 |
525 |
1080 |
517 |
1597 |
| Middle Creek | 66.5 |
529 |
520 |
1049 |
497 |
1546 |
| Millbrook | 78.0 |
512 |
490 |
1002 |
480 |
1482 |
| Sanderson | 69.8 |
535 |
513 |
1048 |
496 |
1544 |
| Southeast Raleigh | 75.0 | 504 |
492 |
996 |
479 |
1475 |
| Wakefield | 76.4 |
537 |
513 |
1050 |
500 |
1550 |
| Wake Forest | 65.8 |
524 |
509 |
1033 |
489 |
1522 |
| Wake County | 73.0 |
541 |
518 |
1059 |
506 |
1565 |
| North Carolina | 63.0 |
511 |
496 |
1007 |
482 |
1489 |
| U.S. | 45.0 |
515 |
502 |
1017 |
494 |
1511 |
Part. is the participation rate
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