Alleghany scores on SAT rise
By LAURA THORNBURG
Staff
Alleghany County students' performance on the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) improved significantly when compared to last year's results, as the state average increased slightly and the national average remained the same compared to last year's results.
The North Carolina Department of Public Instruction released results Aug. 26 that showed Alleghany students attained a subtotal score of 999, where last year's subtotal score was 980. A total of 52 students took the SAT this year, while 37 participated in the testing last year.
The average math score saw a significant increase over last year's results, while the average verbal score remained steady and the average writing score decreased slightly.
This year, Alleghany's students average 519 in math, as compared to 501 last year, averaged 480 in verbal, increasing one point over last year's average, and averaged 464 in writing, as compared to 480 last year.
During a brief phone interview Friday, Superintendent Jeff Cox stated, "We're happy to see that we've made another substantial gain," noting local SAT scores have increased by nearly 40 points in the last two years. He credits high school teachers and administration "for trying to raise the standards," which has resulted in students attaining more competitive scores.
Recently, Mike Faulkner, a former math teacher at the high school, has promoted the idea of SAT preparation. Subsequently, "Math is where we've had the majority of improvement," noted Cox. "He was very passionate trying to get all the kids prepared." Faulkner has since left the school system to pursue another teaching opportunity.
However, Cox pointed out that the increase in SAT scores is "beyond SAT preparation."
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