From the School Systems

SAT Scores Rise in Montgomery, Prince George's

Average scores on the Scholastic Assessment Test increased this year in Montgomery and Prince George's counties but dropped in the District and in most Northern Virginia school systems, according to figures released yesterday.

Montgomery and Prince George's school officials attributed their SAT gains to new efforts to give their students intensive preparation for the college entrance exam. In area school districts with falling scores, officials said their SAT averages were held down by the growing numbers of immigrant and low-income students taking the test.

Although many educators believe the SAT's importance is overstated, the test results remain one of the most widely accepted measures of school quality and student achievement.

Nationally, the average SAT mathematics score rose three points to 511, the highest score in 26 years. But the average verbal score remained unchanged at 505 -- 25 points lower than the level college-bound seniors achieved in 1972.

Officials at the College Board, which administers the SAT, said the results highlighted several disturbing trends, including grade inflation.

Since 1987, the percentage of test-takers with a grade-point average of A minus or better has grown from 28 percent to a record 37 percent, while the average SAT score of those students has fallen by one point in math and by 13 points on the verbal section, the College Board said.

"Educators who give high grades for average performance promote a `just-good-enough' attitude that is detrimental to students and society," said Donald M. Stewart, president of the College Board. "Schools and colleges must reinstate high standards by providing real academic challenges for their students -- as well as the ways and means of attaining them."

Stewart also said that the long-term decline in SAT verbal scores reflects a drop in the number of high school English courses, and he expressed concern about the generally low test scores of black and Mexican American males.

In Montgomery, where the combined math and verbal score rose four points to 1,092, the system's highest SAT average in 23 years, school officials took special delight in beating out Fairfax County. Fairfax posted an average SAT score of 1,088, eight points lower than in the previous year.

"It's wonderful to be on top of Fairfax," said Nancy J. King (Upcounty), vice president of the Montgomery Board of Education. "Especially because this is a national test. It's not a state test or a local test. It puts us up there for all to see."

In the District, the combined SAT score declined 10 points to 811 and remained the lowest in the Washington area. D.C. school Chief Executive Julius W. Becton Jr. said he hoped new standards and other changes underway in the city's academic program this year will help increase scores next year.

Prince George's County posted a six-point increase in its combined verbal and math scores to 895. Although still below both the Maryland and national averages, the score marks the largest one-year gain in 15 years for a school system struggling to raise academic performance. Scores for all racial groups in Prince George's went up, and the percentage of seniors tested increased from 50 percent to 57 percent.

School Superintendent Jerome Clark said he made improving the school system's declining SAT scores one of his priorities when he was appointed to his position two years ago. Last year, he required all high schools to make SAT preparation available to their students. Teachers, parents and community volunteers spent many hours working with students in after-school programs in preparation for the test.

"It is good news," Clark said, "and I think the students, the parents, the business community and elected officials all over this county have a reason to celebrate."

He said his administration will continue to work to assure that the rise in test scores becomes a trend, "not just a one-year event." The school system's goal is to exceed the national SAT average in the next five years, he said.

Montgomery officials also cited their test-preparation programs. At Thomas S. Wootton High School in Rockville, which had a 25-point surge in SAT scores, all 10th-graders are given practice SAT tests and, beginning this year, SAT-like questions will be incorporated into regular assignments.

Rebecca K. Newman, Wootton's principal, said the SAT initiatives have triggered some debate among teachers and school administrators over whether the measures could begin to dictate instruction. "It's a danger, but we think we're keeping it in context," Newman said.

Montgomery School Superintendent Paul L. Vance said the school district's rising scores also reflect a decision to raise graduation requirements and push students to take math courses such as algebra by the ninth grade.

The average combined score among Montgomery's African American students was up 14 points -- rebounding from a drop of 21 points the previous year -- and was 76 points higher than for African Americans nationally.

Fairfax officials said they were disappointed in their one-year drop of eight points but pleased that average SAT scores have been up over the last decade. They noted that Fairfax has a higher percentage of seniors taking the test -- 89 percent -- than any other area district.

"It might mean that prep courses weren't properly done or that we didn't do as many," Fairfax Superintendent Robert R. Spillane said. "Once we get those answers, we will be able to come up with an action plan for improving scores."

Spillane was at a loss to explain an 18-point drop in the average score of African American students in Fairfax. Overall, black students' scores have increased 26 points over the last 12 years, he said. The combined score for black students in Fairfax was 930, compared with 933 in Montgomery.

Alexandria showed the biggest one-year drop in the Washington area: The average math score fell 17 points, and the average verbal score was down 25 points.

School officials attributed the decline to an increase in the percentage of test-takers who have a first language other than English or whose families have an annual income below $30,000.

Staff writers Amy Argetsinger, Lisa Frazier, Amy Klein, Jay Mathews, Ann O'Hanlon, Katherine Shaver and Debbi Wilgoren contributed to this report.