Release: #08-112
August 26, 2008

Contact: Hillary McLean
E-mail: communications@cde.ca.gov
Phone: 916-319-0818

California Students Outpace the Nation in SAT® Participation

SACRAMENTO – State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O'Connell today commented on the results of the SAT® for the California class of 2008.

"I am encouraged by the news that more high school students in the class of 2008 took the SAT® and that their scores rose slightly over last year's class," said O'Connell. "This means they are committed to taking more rigorous coursework that will help them succeed in college."

According to the College Board that administers the SAT®, 205,145 California seniors in this year's class took the test at some point during their high school careers, up 5 percent from last year's 195,406 students. This is the largest growth since 2006 when participation grew 5.2 percent from the previous year. Also, this 5 percent growth outpaced the average increase for the total group of 2008 college-bound seniors in the nation. The overall participation rate for California students was 48.4 percent in 2008, up from 47.6 percent last year, outperforming by 3 percent the participation rate for the entire class of 2008. Of the California students taking the SAT®, 86 percent were from public schools.

The College Board reports the SAT® has three scores, each on the scale of 200-800. A SAT® score tells college admissions officials how well prepared students are for college-level academics by comparing scores of students in a standardized way. For example, if scores are about 500 on each section, that means the mean or average score shows students performed as well as half of the students who took the test.

Among California public school students in 2008 compared to last year, writing scores increased by 2 points to 493, critical reading scores rose by 1 point to 494, and math scores held steady at 513. For the entire California student population, mean scores remained the same in writing at 498 and critical reading at 499, but math declined by 1 point to 515. The increase in California's SAT® participation will cause the percentage of students taking the test to increase, but tends to cause the mean score to decline because more students of varying academic ability are taking the test.

"Our work is not yet done," O'Connell said. "There still exists a significant achievement gap between students who are white or Asian and African American or Latino students. Just like with the ACT® results released earlier this month, the SAT® scores show too many students of color are falling behind academically. I know many dedicated teachers, administrators, and parents are working hard to prepare their children for college because that's where they will develop the skills needed to compete in a more global, economically challenging world."

Here is how subgroups of students performed in writing, critical reading, and math in the SAT®:

SAT® Reasoning Test: Writing Performance by Ethnic Group

Subgroup	2006-07	2007-08
American Indian	485	486
Asian	510	514
African American	435	436
Hispanic or Latino	445	444
White	535	537
Other	498	498

SAT® Reasoning Test: Critical Reading Performance by Ethnic Group

Subgroup	2006-07	2007-08
American Indian	492	496
Asian	508	510
African American	437	438
Hispanic or Latino	445	446
White	538	541
Other	499	499

SAT® Reasoning Test: Mathematics Performance by Ethnic Group

Subgroup	2006-07	2007-08
American Indian	497	496
Asian	563	564
African American	429	429
Hispanic or Latino	451	450
White	546	549
Other	516	515

For more information on the College Board and the SAT®, please visit College Planning Made Easy | Inside Source for College Admissions Requirements [www.collegeboard.com] (Outside Source).

Downloadable data files on how specific California school districts performed on the SAT® and the ACT® will be available later this year at Postsecondary Preparation.