Tuesday, Aug. 30, 2005 | 10:54 a.m.
CARSON CITY -- Nevada high school seniors taking the SAT examination scored at the national average in reading but below the nation in math, the College Board reported today.
Overall Nevada 7,065 students took the test, scoring an average of 508 on the verbal portion and 513 on math. Nationally, the average in public schools was 508 in reading and 520 in math. The national 520 score was an all-time high.
The scores of Nevada students this year remained about the same as last year, but Keith Rheault, state superintendent of public instruction, said he was pleased that the number of students taking the examination increased by 11 percent.
The number of minority students taking the SAT jumped, with 22 percent more Hispanics and 18.1 percent more black students taking the exam compared to last year.
The College Board said scores tend to decline with the rise in the percentage of test-takers. It cautioned against comparing one state against another because demographics and other nonschool factors can have a strong effect on the outcomes.
Assemblywoman Bonnie Parnell, the chairwoman of the Assembly Education Committee, said it was good news that more students are taking the SAT examination.
"We're on the right track," Parnell said. "It shows more students are interested in higher education."
She said students might be thinking more about the Millennium Scholarships. Nevada's score went up one point in the verbal or reading portion from last year but fell one point in math. This year's scores are both down from the 2000 results of 510 in verbal and 517 in math.
Rheault said he expected the math tests to rise next year because students will start to fulfill the requirement of three years of math.
At least one member of the state Board of Education, Rheault said, has talked about increasing the rigor of the math courses.
Parnell, D-Carson City, said the underlying issue is mathematics. She said the state may have to raise the requirement that high school students have four years of math or make the content of the math courses tougher.
Washoe County, Parnell said, is going to require four years of math, unless the parent opts out. She said the results of that program will be studied at the 2007 Legislature.
Sue Daellenbach, testing director for the Clark County School District, said her office had not yet received its copy of the complete College Board report. The report, which will show a breakdown of scores by school as well as the district's average scores, was expected to arrive in this week's mail, Daellenbach said.
Daellenbach said her request to the College Board for an electronic copy of the report was turned down.
Reports the state received did not include Liberty High School, one of the district's newer high schools. Officials couldn't immediately say why that school wasn't included in the report.
Male students outscored females in the verbal portion 512 to 505 and in math 533 to 496.
Of those taking the test, 78 percent want to go to college, down from the 79 percent in 2004 and the 81 percent in 2001.
For females, 26 percent want to enter the health professions and allied services, 12 percent want to go into business and commerce and 10 percent want a career in the visual and performing arts.
Among the male students, 16 percent want to go into business and commerce, another 16 percent into engineering and engineering technologies and 13 percent in the health professions.
Fifty-two percent of the students who took the SAT sent their scores to UNLV; 50 percent transmitted the results to UNR and 12 percent to the Community College of Southern Nevada.
White students had average scores of 523 on reading, up from 518 last year and 523 on math, an increase of two points.
The 527 black students who took the test averaged 447 on reading and 439 on math. That's one point up on reading but seven points down in math.
The 728 Hispanic students registered a 482 on the verbal and 485 in math, down five points in reading but up one point in math, and 902 Asian students averaged 489 on reading, the same as last year,but the math score dropped to 524, down four points.
The 76 American Indian students taking the examination scored 503 on reading and 504 on math, down from 505 last year in verbal and 509 in math.
The report said 39 percent of the high school graduates took the test, down from about 49 percent nationwide. Roughly 49 percent of this year's 2.98 million high school graduates nationwide took the test, according to the College Board.
Nationwide, this was the 15th year in a row that the total number of students taking the test increased, up this year about 56,000 test takers from last year. "This increase tells us that more and more students are interested in going to college," College Board Gaston Caperton said today at a news conference in Washington. "And they know the importance of college." The 4-hour and 15-minute SAT test is the fairest in the world, Caperton said. Roughly 49 percent of this year's 2.98 million high school graduates took the test, according to the College Board.
Gaston added, "The best preparation for the SAT is the day-to-day hard work that students do in school."
Much of the information for the College Board report came from questionnaires completed by students when they registered for the test.
Sun Washington Bureau Chief
Benjamin Grove contributed to this story.
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