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SAT scores above state average

By JOHN THOMPSON
jthompson@TheCitizenNews.com

All three of Coweta County’s high schools made strides in this year’s SAT scores.

In a press releases sent out this week, Coweta officials touted the gains made by students taking the test.

The average SAT 1 test score for seniors graduating in 2005 at the three Coweta County high schools was 1010.8, surpassing the state average by 17.8 points.

John Dunn, associate superintendent for the Coweta County School System, has begun analyzing the scores.

“What we’ve seen in today’s report is very good news for Coweta County,” said Dunn. “Our scores are higher than the state average, and our scores are rising faster than both the state and the national averages. It shows all of our schools are doing a good job preparing students for college. The effort our teachers and students are putting in is making a difference.”

“I think the efforts of our teachers have really paid off,” said Superintendent Blake Bass, who congratulated high school principals Tuesday morning on the rise in scores. “As a system we have adopted the goal of meeting the national average SAT. Our school system average has grown much faster this year then either the state or national average, so our schools are moving in that direction. Our teachers and students have worked hard and deserve the credit for that.”

The press release says that all Coweta County high schools reported increases in the average SAT score. Northgate High leads the school system with an average score of 1030 (an increase of 4 points over last year); Newnan High posted an average score of 1020.5 (an increase of 22.5 points); East Coweta High posted an average score of 985 (an increase of 8 points).

Georgia’s average SAT score increased by six points, from 987 to 993. The national average increased by two points, to 1028.

Fifty-three percent of seniors graduating from Coweta County high schools last year took the SAT. The Coweta County School System and Georgia school systems generally have a very high percentage of seniors who take the SAT exam. Overall, East Coweta High School had 52 percent of seniors taking the exam; Newnan High had 46 percent; Northgate High School had 62 percent, from among all seniors who graduated in 2005.

The school system-wide average rose 10.8 points in 2005, after dropping 7 points during the 2003-04 administration of the test. The system average is 35 points higher than the 1995 average score, when the SAT 1 exam was re-normed, and the school system has continued to make an overall upward increase in the ten years since that administration.

Raising SAT scores has been a goal of Coweta County School’s during the last decade, accomplished by emphasizing vocabulary skills, math skills and critical thinking skills in high school curriculum, strong Advanced Placement offerings in high schools, and by offering school system SAT preparatory courses.

The Coweta County School System also offers voluntary SAT 1 test preparatory classes several times a year.