We always like to hear good news that our youngsters are doing well in school. So it is disturbing to find SAT reading and math test scores for the class of 2011 declined nationally, to the lowest level since 1995.
The College Board says average SAT math scores fell one point, to 514, and reading scores fell three points, to 497.
Why? Well, we can only guess. Was it because a larger group of students took the test, or was it something else?
“Yes, changing test-taker demographics matter,” one official said. “No, they don’t explain an 18-point drop (in combined scores) over five years.”
A College Board observer said, “We’re looking and wondering if efforts in English and reading and writing would benefit.” It was reported that about 20 percent of students currently take less than four years of English in high school, for example.