The SAT is intended to assess a student’s readiness for college. Unlike the PSSA, which is administered by the state of Pennsylvania, the SAT is owned, published, and developed by the College Board, a non-profit composed of more than 5,900 schools, colleges, universities and other educational organizations.
SAT consists of three major sections. Each section receives a score, and a total score is calculated by adding up scores of the three sections.
Once again, the below data comes from the same Pennsylvanian Department of Education, and publicly available on their website.
| School Name | Verbal Average Score | Math Average Score | Prior to Writing Test | Writing Average Score | With Writing Test |
| Unionville HS | 577 | 591 | 1168 | 584 | 1752 |
| Conestoga HS | 578 | 601 | 1179 | 572 | 1751 |
| Great Valley HS | 572 | 576 | 1148 | 564 | 1712 |
| Downingtown HS East | 541 | 560 | 1101 | 541 | 1642 |
| Downingtown West | 530 | 554 | 1084 | 528 | 1612 |
| Henderson HS | 530 | 543 | 1073 | 515 | 1588 |
| West Chester East | 519 | 538 | 1057 | 514 | 1571 |
| West Chester Bayard Rustin HS | 520 | 537 | 1057 | 511 | 1568 |
| Owen J Roberts HS | 521 | 529 | 1050 | 512 | 1562 |
| Avon Grove HS | 515 | 531 | 1046 | 502 | 1548 |
| Kennett HS | 516 | 520 | 1036 | 504 | 1540 |
| Phoenixville Area HS | 512 | 521 | 1033 | 502 | 1535 |
| Oxford Area HS | 500 | 511 | 1011 | 473 | 1484 |
| Octorara Area HS | 493 | 506 | 999 | 468 | 1467 |
| Coatesville Area SHS | 447 | 448 | 895 | 423 | 1318 |
Have we started to see a trend in the data? Do you think we are getting a good return on our tax dollars? If you agree that this community does not need another tax hike, where should we cut the budget… with programs that help kids, or the adult who that are under performing for the high wages we are paying?
It is probably worse than the data appears. There are many students that don’t take the SATs that would, if they did they take the test, bring scores down even further.
This is true, but no school has 100% participation. The sampling reflects a similar outcome to the PSSA tests.
The average SAT scores are: CR-496; M-514;W-488. The writing section is notoriously difficult and sometimes misrepresents writing ability; several colleges do not factor writing scores into admission. Octorara is ranked 11 out of 15 in Lancaster County with 68% of students participating. It’s scores are just slightly below average in the county, state, and nation.
From the New York Times: “Scores on the SAT correlate very highly with scores on standardized tests of intelligence, and like IQ scores, are stable across time and not easily increased through training, coaching or practice. SAT preparation courses appear to work, but the gains are small — on average, no more than about 20 points per section.”
SAT scores are a reflection of general intelligence, not school preparation.
You referenced a post from the Opinion section. It is one of five posts, from different perspectives, debating the validity of SAT scores… a debate that has existed for a long time. The SAT is an objective, measurable method of measuring college preparedness.
Joe,
The comparison is being done in relation to Chester County schools to provide a reference for Return On Investment. Octorara teachers are paid at a rate higher than county, state, and national averages. I know you’re a young guy, and may not fully understand the property tax situation. However, no matter what the comparison, we are paying more and getting less.
That may be true, but once again you are using an argument that doesn’t prove your point.
What do you think is my point?
The point is that taxes are too high, and we will not stand for it anymore. The school board has failed us, and the teachers have failed the students. Now with that out of the way how can we better the situation so it does not happen anymore.