For Some Students, SAT Can Open College Doors

District high school student Gilbert Castillo didn't contemplate college until a counselor at Benjamin Banneker Senior High School urged him to take the SAT.

Castillo, who learned English after moving from El Salvador in seventh grade, took the test twice last year -- first as a junior, then as a senior. He scored in the mid-500s on all three sections and applied to five colleges. He is a freshman at the Florida Institute of Technology on a scholarship from Mercedes-Benz and the first member of his family to go to college.

The SAT might be crucial in college admissions, but Castillo said he "didn't know I had to take it to apply."

Castillo, 18, is one of thousands of D.C. students in the Class of 2007 who are part of the largest and most diverse group of students ever to take the college-entrance exam.

Nationwide, scores were the lowest in eight years, according to data released this week by the College Board. But, as Castillo illustrates, scores that might seem disappointing are a sign of academic progress.

The College Board ascribed this year's results to a more diverse pool of students taking the test.

L. Nelson Burton, principal of Calvin Coolidge Senior High School in Northwest, said he encourages all students to take the exam, even if they are uncertain about attending college.

"Principals like me may be responsible for the lower scores, but I think it's creating options for some," Burton said.

In the District, scores did not surpass 500 on any of the three sections, each of which has a maximum score is 800; students posted losses in each section of the test. Reading scores dropped by nine points to 478. Scores dropped 10 points in math, to 472. In writing, the newest portion of the test, scores dropped 11 points to 482.

Yesterday, education officials were analyzing the results and working on a school-by-school breakdown of scores. As D.C. public education shifts to a mayor-controlled system and a state superintendent office, the scores present another academic challenge.

Schools Chancellor Michelle A. Rhee said through a spokeswoman that the results show an academic achievement gap that is "troubling" but that they don't reflect students' potential. Students in ninth, 10th and 11th grades will be given the PSAT to gauge college readiness, said the spokeswoman, Mafara Hobson.

Deborah A. Gist, the D.C. state superintendent of education, said that beginning Oct. 1, her office will allot $485,000 for a new SAT prep program.

Maryland and Virginia also reported lower scores.

In Anne Arundel County, results were higher than the national average in each section of the test. Students scored 507 in critical reading, 516 in math and 496 on the writing portion. Overall, the average combined score in Anne Arundel fell from 1551 last year to 1519 this year.