Vermont SAT scores down, ACT up

Vermont students posted a strong showing on the 2009 College Board Advanced Placement (AP) exams and Scholastic Assessment Tests (SAT), as well as the 2009 ACT exam, the Department of Education announced today. The results of the SAT showed that scores dropped, most notably in math, but were still well above national averages. The ACT scores rose by two points and Vermont now ranks fourth in the nation for that test.
The AP program offers high school students college-level courses in a variety of subject areas. In all, 3,495 Vermont students participated in the AP program (up 4.2 percent from 2008) and took 5,752 AP exams (up 5.2 percent from last year). According to College Board, Vermont leads the nation in the five year-increase in AP scores.
AP exams are scored on a scale of one (lowest score) to five (highest score). Sixty-six percent of Vermont exams were scored at three or higher. A score of three or above is considered demonstrating college level mastery of the content.
Vermonters continue to perform above the national average on the SAT exams. Since 2008, Critical Reading decreased by one point to 518 (compared to 501 nationally), Mathematics declined by five points to 518 (compared to 515 nationally) and Writing declined by one point to 506 (compared to 493 nationally).
In addition, 64 percent of Vermont high school seniors took the exam, with the number of SAT test takers in the 2009 high school cohort in Vermont decreasing from 5,468 to 5,306.
More females than males take the exam in Vermont, and gender gaps still remain by subject area, with females excelling in Writing and males excelling in Math. Females scored an average of 517 in Critical Reading compared to 519 for males; 504 in Mathematics compared to 535 for males, and 514 in Writing compared to 496 for males.
The ACT college admission and placement exam tests student skills in Reading, Writing, Math and Science. The scores from those exams are averaged to create a composite score. Vermont s high school graduates in the class of 2009 earned an average composite score of 23.1 on the ACT, up from 22.7 last year. A total of 2,008 Vermont graduates took the exam, a 35 percent increase over the last five years.
Vermont s average ACT score of 23.1 is higher than the national average of 21.1 and ranked fourth in the country.
Source: Vermont Department of Education. August 25, 2009