The North Carolina 1998
Scholastic Assessment Test (SAT) Report
1998 Average Scores
| Press Release | 1997
Results | 1996 Results | 1995
Results
Table of Contents
Cautions on the Use of
Aggregate SAT Scores*
Contents
As measures of developed verbal and
mathematical abilities important for success in college, SAT scores are
useful in making decisions about individual students and in assessing the
academic preparation of individual students. Using these scores in
aggregate form as a single measure to rank or rate teachers, educational
institutions, districts, or states is invalid because it does not include
all students. And in being incomplete, this use is inherently unfair.
For example, in order for one to make
useful comparisons between states, of students' performance, a common test
given to all students would be required. Because the percentage of
SAT-takers varies widely among the states, and because the test-takers are
self-selected, the SAT is inappropriate for this purpose.
The most significant factor in
interpreting SAT scores is the proportion of eligible students taking the
exam - the participation rate. In general, the higher the percentage of
students taking the test, the lower will be the average scores.
In some states, for example, a very small
percentage of the college-bound seniors take the SAT. Typically, these
students have strong academic backgrounds and are applicants to the
nation's most selective colleges and scholarship programs. Therefore, it
is to be expected that the SAT verbal and mathematical averages reported
for these states will be higher than is the national average. In states
where a greater proportion of students with a wide range of academic
backgrounds take the SAT, and where most colleges in the state require the
test for admission, the scores are closer to the national average.
In looking at average SAT scores, the
user must understand the context in which the particular test scores were
earned. Other factors variously related to performance on the SAT include
academic courses studied in high school, family background, and education
of parents. These factors and others of a less tangible nature could very
well have a significant influence on average scores. That is not to say,
however, that scores cannot be used properly as one indicator of
educational quality. Average scores analyzed from a number of years can
reveal trends in the academic preparation of students who take the test
and can provide individual states and schools with a means of
self-evaluation and self-comparison.
By studying other indicators - such as
retention/attrition rates, graduation rates, the number of courses taken
in academic subjects, or scores on other standardized tests - one can
evaluate the general direction in which education in a particular
jurisdiction is headed. A careful examination of other conditions
impinging on the educational enterprise, such as pupil/teacher ratios,
teacher credentials, expenditures per student, and minority enrollment, is
also important.
Summaries of scores and other information
by state, college, or school district can be used in curriculum
development, faculty staffing, student recruitment, financial aid
assessment, planning for physical facilities, and student services such as
guidance and placement. Aggregate data can also be useful to state,
regional, and national education policymakers, especially in tracking
changes during a period of time.
Contents
Scholastic Assessment Test (SAT) scores
measure developed verbal and mathematical abilities necessary for success
in college. Toward this end, SAT scores are useful in assessing the
academic preparation of individual students and in making decisions about
individual students. Using SAT scores in aggregate form as a single
measure to rank or rate states, educational institutions, school systems,
schools, or teachers is invalid because not all students take the SAT and
those who do are self-selected. Comparisons of this kind are incomplete
which makes their use inherently unfair. Consequently, rankings or
residual rankings are not used in this report in compliance with The
College Board and with professional standards for educational and
psychological testing.
Aggregate scores can, however, indicate
the preparation of groups of students who aspire to attend college. In
addition, average scores analyzed for a number of years can reveal trends
in the academic preparation of students who take the SAT. Consequently,
this report includes the SAT performance of North Carolina students who
took the test in 1998, as well as historical data on the SAT performance
of North Carolina's students.
Contents
The data in this report are SAT results
for students scheduled to graduate in 1998 and are these students' most
recent scores regardless of when they last took the test. The results for
North Carolina and the United States in this report represent the
performance of public and non-public school students. North Carolina's
results include performance of students in public schools, charter
schools, North Carolina School of the Arts, and North Carolina School of
Science and Mathematics.
This year North Carolina students made a
mean gain of four points while the nation's mean SAT score improved by one
point (see Figure 1). The North Carolina mean (average) total SAT score
for 1998 college-bound seniors is 982. North Carolina students continue to
show improvement each year, however, they are 35 points below the national
mean. The gap of 35 points between the North Carolina mean and the United
States mean is the smallest in 27 years. The gap between North Carolina
and the nation has decreased by 48 points since 1972 and has decreased by
23 points since 1988.
North Carolina continues to close the gap
on the Southeast as well. Compared to North Carolina's four-point gain,
the Southeast mean total SAT score increased by two points in 1998. North
Carolina is four points below the Southeast mean of 986.
Students in North Carolina public schools
are faring even better when compared to public school students in the
nation. For public school students in the nation the mean total SAT score
is 1011 compared to North Carolina public schools' 981 (a difference of 30
points).
North Carolina students are closer to the
nation on the verbal portion of the SAT than on the mathematics portion.
North Carolina students' mean score on the verbal portion of the SAT was
490 compared to 505 for the United States (a difference of 15 points). On
the mathematics portion of the SAT, North Carolina students' mean score
was 492 compared to 512 for the United States as a whole (a difference of
20 points).
Contents
In North Carolina and the nation, males
historically have higher mean SAT scores than females (see Figure 2).
North Carolina males' mean total SAT score is 1002 compared to females'
967. The gap between North Carolina males and females has been 32-33
points the past four years, but increased to 35 points this year. The
difference between North Carolina males and females is largely in
mathematics where North Carolina males' mean score of 509 is 30 points
higher than North Carolina females. North Carolina females only trail five
points behind North Carolina males on the verbal scale.
North Carolina males trail males
nationally by 38 points, while North Carolina females fall behind females
nationally by 31 points. North Carolina males and females had a net gain
on the mean total SAT of three points compared to their counterparts
nationally. Nationally, males' mean total SAT improved by three points
while North Carolina males improved by six points; females nationally
improved by one point while North Carolina females improved by four
points.
Race/Ethnicity
Contents
Whites and Asians in North Carolina
schools and in the nation typically score higher than other ethnic/racial
groups (see Figure 3). Of all the ethnic/racial groups represented in
North Carolina, only Hispanic students' score higher than their national
counterparts. North Carolina Hispanics' mean total SAT score was 984
compared to 916 for Hispanics nationally (a 68 point difference).
Hispanics of all backgrounds (Mexican, Puerto Rican, or Latin American) in
North Carolina had higher mean scores than their national counterparts.
Hispanics, however, make up a very small proportion of the total SAT test
takers in North Carolina, representing only one percent compared to eight
percent nationally.
All other ethnic groups, American
Indians, Asian Americans, Blacks, and Whites in North Carolina trail their
national counterparts in SAT performance. Of these groups, Blacks in North
Carolina are the closest to their counterparts nationally (a difference of
23 points). In North Carolina the mean total SAT score for Blacks was 839,
a five point increase over last year. This compares to Blacks nationally
who increased three points to 860. Black students have demonstrated
improved performance in North Carolina, while representing a much higher
proportion of SAT test takers than in the nation (20% in North Carolina
versus 11% nationally).
North Carolina's American Indian
students, although improving performance, are the farthest behind their
national counterparts (a difference of 57 points).
Contents
In North Carolina, as in the nation, the
higher the family income the higher the student's mean total SAT score
(see Figure 4). There is very little change from year to year in the mean
within each family income category. The relative difference in mean total
SAT score between family income categories is also fairly stable from year
to year.
Contents
The more academic credits students have
in six subject areas (Arts and Music, English, Foreign and Classical
Languages, Mathematics, Natural Sciences, Social Sciences and History),
the higher their mean SAT scores (see Figure 5). Students in North
Carolina are earning one-half additional academic credit on average
compared to students in 1994. While the mean SAT scores of students in the
nation in each range of earned academic credits have fluctuated over the
last five years, the mean scores of North Carolina students in two of the
higher levels of academic credits earned (18-18.5 and 19-19.5) have
steadily decreased over the last five years (see Figure 5). This trend may
be a result of a more diversely prepared group of students taking the SAT
which is reflected in the percent of SAT test takers with 20 or more
academic credits increasing from 39% in 1997 to 47% in 1998.
Typically, the higher a student's high
school grade point average (GPA), the higher the student's mean total SAT
score (see Figure 6). North Carolina students with a high school GPA of
A-, A, or A+ are further behind their national counterparts than students
with a B or C average. North Carolina students with a high school GPA of
A-, A, or A+ trail their peers nationally by 65, 60, and 51 points
respectively. Additionally, North Carolina students with a GPA of A-, A,
or A+ represent 43 percent of students compared to 38 percent nationally.
North Carolina students with a GPA of B are 41 points behind their peers
nationally and represent 44 percent of students compared to 48 percent
nationally. Students in North Carolina with a GPA of C are only 28 points
behind their peers nationally and represent 13 percent of students in
North Carolina and in the nation. Examining the information on student GPA
and mean SAT scores, it appears that North Carolina teachers' standards
for A's and B's are lower than their peers nationally, while their
standards for C's is comparable to their peers nationally. A small decline
in the mean SAT scores for students with a GPA of A-, A, or A+ and a small
increase in the mean SAT scores of students with a GPA of C over the last
five years (see Figure 6), further implies this discrepancy in standards.
There is a strong, positive relationship
between the average performance of students on the North Carolina
end-of-course tests in a high school and the mean total SAT score for that
school (see Figure 7). The Pearson correlation between the performance
composite and mean total SAT score by high school was 0.88 on a scale of
Ð1.0 to +1.0. This relationship was determined by plotting a high
school's performance composite against its mean total SAT score. The
performance composite is the weighted average of the percent of students
at or above level III on end-of-course tests (i.e., students mastering the
course content). The performance composite is based on student performance
on six end-of-course tests: Algebra I; Biology; Economic, Legal, and
Political Systems (ELPS); English I; English II; and U.S. History.
North Carolina and the
University of North Carolina System
Contents
The mean total SAT score of North
Carolina students graduating in 1997 was 978, while the University of
North Carolina system mean for first-year students was 1060 (1997 is the
most current year for which comparable data are available). The fact that
students entering the University of North Carolina system have a higher
mean total SAT score than students graduating high school is expected
since many students who do not perform well on the SAT choose other
post-secondary options including community college and full-time
employment. University of North Carolina institutions, however, serve a
wide-variety of student abilities as evidenced by the institution averages
which range from 825 to 1220 (The University of North Carolina, 1998).
Contents
Most people assume there is a negative
association between the percent of students taking the SAT and the mean
SAT score. This association is true when the percent of students taking
the SAT and the mean total SAT scores for states are compared (see Figure
8). However, the opposite association occurs when the percent of students
taking the SAT and the mean total SAT score for public school systems and
public schools are correlated (see Figures 9 and 10). The Pearson
correlation between the percent of students taking the SAT and the mean
total SAT score is 0.39 for public school systems in North Carolina and
similarly the correlation is 0.41 for North Carolina public schools. These
results mean that schools and school systems in North Carolina cannot
assume that their scores were better or worse because the percent of
students taking the SAT changed. In fact, 51% of all schools and school
systems in the nation had a change in their mean verbal or math SAT of
plus or minus 10 points (The College Board, 1998). This fluctuation in
mean SAT scores means that school systems and schools should take into
account other factors such as course-taking patterns, content of the
curriculum, and course standards when attempting to explain changes in
mean SAT scores.
Background on
Recentering the SAT I Scores
Contents
The College Board recentered the score
scale of the SAT I, re-establishing the original mean score of 500 on the
200-800 scale in order to maintain the SAT's statistical integrity and
predictive validity. The scale had not been recalibrated since 1941 when
it reflected the norm of some 10,000 students from predominantly private
secondary schools who applied to the nation's most selective private
colleges and universities. As mean scores shifted below 500, the score
distribution became stretched in the upper half and compressed in the
lower half.
Now that scores are recentered on the
renormed SAT I, they reflect the more than two million students who take
the test today. They also reflect a more diverse college-bound population
than the group who took the SAT in 1941.
Although a student's score may change
after recentering, the rank order of individual scores, expressed as
percentiles, remains the same. What is more, a specific score on the
verbal test now has the same relative position and meaning as the same
score on the math test. For example, a 450 on verbal and math signifies
comparable performance in both areas. Before recentering, a score of 450
represented above-average performance on verbal and below-average
performance on math. While recentering permits legitimate comparisons of
verbal and math scores and reduces earlier confusion, it has no effect on
historical score trends, or on the difficulty level of the test and the
relative standing of students to each other.
Sources of Data for the
Report
Contents
The data in this report are from three
primary sources: (1) National Report 1998 College-Bound Seniors: A
Profile of SAT Program Test Takers and profiles from earlier years
(The College Board); (2) North Carolina Report 1998 College-Bound
Seniors: A Profile of SAT Program Test Takers and profiles from
earlier years (The College Board); and (3) a data file of individual
student scores for the state's 117 public school systems, charter schools,
North Carolina School of the Arts, and North Carolina School of Science
and Mathematics. The data file was prepared by Educational Testing Service
in cooperation with The College Board. SAT scores are reported each year
for students scheduled to graduate. Only the most recent scores of these
students are reported, regardless of when they last took the test.
Contents
The University of North Carolina. (1998,
April). Statistical abstract of higher education in North Carolina,
1997-98 (Research Report 1-98). Chapel Hill, NC: Author.
The College Board. (1998, September). College-bound
students set records in racial and ethnic diversity, precollege credit,
and grades, but College Board sees growing disparities among subgroups.
New York: Author.
Citations
Contents
* Excerpted from Guidelines
on the Uses of College Board Test Scores and Related Data. Copyright
1988 by College Entrance Examination Board. All rights reserved. Back
Report Produced By:
Public Schools of North Carolina
State Board of Education
Department of Public Instruction
Instructional and Accountability Services
Division of Accountability Services
Reporting Section
August 1998
1998 Average Scores
| Press Release | 1997
Results | 1996
Results | 1995
Results
|
