Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) scores have recently been released and Poway Unified School District is pleased to report the performance of its students. The total PUSD mean score of 1648 moved overall performance four points higher in 2007 compared to 2006. The performance gains bucked state and national trends as California and the nation each realized seven point declines in 2007.

PUSD’s overall gain can be attributed to a four-point increase in critical reading. Math and writing scores fluctuated one point, with math posting a one-point gain and writing a one-point decline.

Student performance on the mathematics portion of the test remained the district’s strength, as in years past. Students posted a mean score of 569 in math, a mean score of 541 on the critical reading test, and 538 on the writing test. The three scores combined yield the district’s overall score of 1648.

In 2007, 1,774 (69%) of PUSD’s graduates took the SAT test at least once while in high school, up from 67% in 2006. The district’s goal is to achieve a 74% participation rate for all schools and all subgroups by 2008. In 2006, Rancho Bernardo High School was the first PUSD high school to achieve a 74% achievement rate. This year, Mt. Carmel High School becomes the second PUSD high school to exceed the district’s goal of a 74% participation rate. Statewide, 50% of the graduates took the test, and nationwide 49% of the graduates participated.

Performance among PUSD’s four comprehensive high schools showed some variation. The 48-point difference between the district’s highest scoring school (Rancho Bernardo High) and lowest scoring school (Mt. Carmel High) was seven points greater in 2007. Westview High realized the greatest gain (+25) with ten-point gains in reading and writing. Mt. Carmel High School registered the greatest gain in participation (+22%).

The performance of ethnic subgroups shows a continuing achievement gap, however the Latino group, which the College Board further refers to as three subgroups: Mexican American, Puerto Rican, and other Hispanic, showed that Poway Unified students in the Latino-Mexican American subgroup achieved significant gains in 2007. African American students’ scores were unchanged in 2007 and below district averages.

Poway Unified males performed better in mathematics and females performed better in the language arts.

The “New SAT” went into effect last year with the graduating class of 2006. The New SAT includes several new features that the publisher hopes better align the tests with high school course work and college entrance expectations. The most noticeable of these changes is the addition of a writing test worth 800 points. This addition raised the total possible scale score from 1600 to 2400. Other, less well-publicized but significant changes included:

• Revision of the math test to include Algebra II content while eliminating quantitative comparisons.
• Revision of the verbal test into a “Critical Reading” test
• The new SAT is a longer test, increasing from 3:00 hours to 3:35 hours.

These revisions interrupted longitudinal comparisons and created a new baseline from which year-to-year growth should be measured. Multiple year trend comparisons are no longer valid or appropriate.

Don Phillips, PUSD Superintendent, said, “We are please to see that the number of students taking the SAT continues to grow and that now two schools have reached our target goal for 2008. We continue to encourage our students to take the SAT and to complete all options so that they are college ready. It is particularly significant that our students are continuing to improve their scores even though the state and nation are not experiencing this positive trend.”