| 114th Year, 5th Issue | Thursday, September 12, 2002 | Sparta, North Carolina |
North Carolina's average SAT (Scholastic Assessment Test) score rose six points from last year, continuing a 12-year trend of steady gains. Meanwhile, Alleghany's average SAT score dipped slightly, following increases the last three years. A somewhat higher percentage of students took the test this year than last year.
According to an Aug. 27 release from the N.C. Department of Public Instruction (DPI), the state's average total score this year was 998, up from 992 last year and 988 in 2000.
Alleghany High School students who took the SAT averaged 992 this year, compared to 995 in 2001 and 960 in 2000.
The highest possible score on the test is 1,600.
Administered by the College Board, the SAT is used by many colleges to help determine how a student may perform and is one factor in considering college applicants.
Nationwide, the average score was unchanged at 1,020, the same as last year and one point higher than in 2000. The national participation rate was 46 percent this year, 45 percent in 2001 and 44 percent in 2000.
In North Carolina the six-point gain was all in the mathematics portion of the test, in which the average score went from 499 to 505. The average verbal score held steady at 493. The state's participation rate rose from 64 percent in 2000 to 65 percent in 2001, to 67 percent this year.
In a bit of a flip-flop, Alleghany's average math score rose 24 points, from 487 last year to 511. Meanwhile, the verbal average dropped 27 points, from 508 to 481. At total of 37 AHS students took the SAT this year, for a participation rate of 47.4 percent, compared to 32 (38.6 percent) last year and 48 (55.8 percent) in 2000.
Local/State Reaction
"We're really pleased with our math score," said AHS Principal Barbara Lyon.
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