The 2007 SAT scores are in. And Fulton County leads the state in test scores.

Fulton County led the state with a combined 1,595 average score out of a possible 2,400, followed by the City of Decatur and Oconee County. Cherokee and Fayette counties tied for fourth place, averaging scores of 1,548.

Restructured by the College Board in 2005, the SAT now has three sections, including math, critical reading, and writing. Each is scored within a range of 200-800 points, combining for a total of 2,400 rather than former benchmark of 1,600.

Creekside High School averaged 1,276, a 27 percent decrease compared to 2006 mean scores. A breakdown of test components for Creekside showed a seven percent decrease in the mean critical reading score, a three percent decrease in the mean math score and a 17 percent decrease in the mean writing score.

Several Fulton schools reported significant gains in their scores. Alpharetta High School averaged 1,689, a 51 percent increase, while Northview High School had a 32 percent increase with a score of 1,702 and Riverwood High School posted a 24 percent increase with a score of 1,612. But the greatest gain in the average score came at Banneker High School, reporting a 58 percent increase on a score of 1,248.

In all, Fulton's scores trump the state average by 117 points and the national average by 78 points, with several schools reporting sizable increases ranging from 24-58 percentage points, according to Fulton County School Board.

By comparison, Georgia, as a whole, dropped five points in its combined score and the national average dropped seven points. Additionally, Fulton continues to have more students taking the SAT than the national average. Nationally, the percent of students taking the SAT has stayed at 48 percent while Fulton reported that 83.5 percent of its 2007 graduates took the SAT.

Previously known as the verbal section, the critical reading section includes short and long reading passages. Analogies, which were included in the previous SAT, were removed because they are less connected to the current high school curriculum. Sentence-completion questions remained as part of the test.

The new writing section requires students to write an essay similar to the type of writing required for in-class college essay exams. Students must take a position on an issue and use reasoning and examples to support their position. The writing section also includes multiple-choice questions that measure a student's ability to identify sentence errors, improve sentences, and improve paragraphs.

The math section includes topics from third-year college-preparatory math and Algebra II, such as exponential growth, absolute value, functional notation, and negative and fractional exponents. Quantitative comparisons from the previous SAT have been eliminated.

According to The College Board, the SAT was changed to better reflect what students are learning in high school. The test has evolved since its introduction in 1926 to remain aligned with classroom practices and what schools are teaching. Before the 2005 restructuring, the last major change occurred in 1994, when antonym questions were removed and longer reading passages were added. Open-ended math questions also were added at that time and calculators were allowed.

login to post comments