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Costa SAT scores lose upward momentum
by John Tawa
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Average SAT scores for graduating seniors
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| 2000 |
1999 |
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| Math | Verbal | Math | Verbal | |
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Mira Costa* |
553 | 540 | 561 | 550 |
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State of California |
518 | 497 | 514 | 497 |
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United States |
514 | 505 | 511 | 505 |
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*292 students in 2000, 308 in 1999 |
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Nationally and in California, last year's senior class scored better on average on the math portion of the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) than the class of 1999 did, while the verbal scores remained the same.
At Mira Costa High School, however, last year's average SAT scores, although higher than the national and state averages, dropped slightly, eight points or 1.4 per cent in math and 10 points or 1.8 per cent on the verbal portion of the test.
"We were disappointed to see they had dropped," said Mira Costa principal Lynn McCormack. "We're going to sit down and take a look at what might have been happening. That doesn't mean that these aren't solid scores because they are. But we're always interested in making sure the trend continues upward."
The SAT is the primary entrance test for college-bound students. In 2000, 1.26 million seniors nationwide took the test. The scoring system sets 500 points as the average score for both verbal and math. Scores range between 200 and 800 points.
Nationally, math scores on the SAT for graduating seniors rose to 514 on average, three points higher than last year. This is the first time in 31 years that math scores were up. The average verbal score was 505, the same as it has been since 1996.
In California, the results were the same, with math tending higher, but verbal scores staying the same. The state's average math score rose to 518, four points above the national average and four points higher than the 1999 score. On the verbal portion, the average was 497, the same as last year.
About half of the state's high school graduates, 156,145 students, took the SAT in 2000. ER