Schools Address Lower SAT Scores

Charles school officials, she said, have discouraged students from taking the test, or at least have failed to encourage them to do so.

But Charles officials, who noted that their scores are still above the state and national averages, stressed that they do not dissuade students from the SAT and pointed to several test preparation programs in their schools.

"Our job is to make the students' dreams come true, whatever direction they want," said La Plata High School Principal Garth Bowling. "If they don't need to take this test, we don't push them into it against their will."

In recent decades, college as an option has become more prevalent in Charles, as the county, once known for its stretches of tobacco farms, surged with new residents, development and businesses. The favorite destination for the county's high school graduates remains the College of Southern Maryland, a community college that does not require SAT scores from applicants.

"There are some in the field who think the SAT is the only way to college, but we know, having worked with many colleges, that there are other paths," said Judy Estep, Charles public schools' assistant superintendent of instruction. "Students can take the ACT, too, and besides, a large number of our students choose to go to CSM, which has their own entrance exam."

A small but growing number of small liberal arts colleges have begun making SAT scores optional for admission. And critics have called the test an overly simplistic predictor of students' college potential and possibly unfair to poorer students.

Last month's SAT statistics also showed slightly fewer seniors taking the test, 9,800 fewer nationally, than the previous year. Meanwhile, the Iowa City-based ACT -- more popular in the Midwest -- gained about 20,000 with the Class of 2006. For most colleges, scores from either the SAT or the ACT are still required.

"If you're a student in Charles and even thinking of going to college, why not take the SAT?" said school board member Young. "It can't hurt. It opens the door to scholarships and gives you college options."

In neighboring Calvert County, where the rate of seniors taking the SAT has hovered slightly higher in recent years at about 55 percent, officials said they would like to increase that figure, but they also pointed out new pressures school systems face in today's test-saturated environment.

"We had a slight dip in SAT scores and the number of students participating, so of course we're going to reexamine what we're doing," said Ted Haynie, director of system performance. "But the name of the game is HSA" -- Maryland's High School Assessment tests.

In three years, Maryland will begin requiring seniors to pass the assessment tests in order to graduate.

"That's where most of the focus is for high schools in Maryland," Haynie said. "Right now we're talking about 50-some percent taking the SAT. We want that to increase and scores to go up, but we need 100 percent of the kids to graduate."

Staff writer Lori Aratani contributed to this report.