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Alexandria, VA 22350-1400

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DoDEA Announces 2011 SAT Results

For Immediate Release — October 4, 2011 | HQ
: | (703) 588-3260   •   : | (703) 588-3265

ARLINGTON, VA — October 4, 2011 — More DoDEA students took the 2011 SAT exam than in previous years and they continue to perform better than their national counterparts in critical reading. DoDEA minority students also continue to outperform their national counterparts in the majority of subject areas assessed.

For 2011, DoDEA's SAT participation rate was 74% (2,382 students), compared to 68% in 2010. The Nation's 2011 SAT participation rate was 50% (1,647,123 students). DoDEA's 2011 participation rate of 74% is the highest in the past five years and among the highest in the nation.

DoDEA students' 2011 SAT average score in Critical Reading remains higher than the national average while their score in Math is lower. DoDEA students' 2011 average score in writing equaled the national mean score. The DoDEA SAT mean Critical Reading score of 503 is 6 points above the national mean score of 497 while its SAT mean Math score of 495 was 19 points below the national mean score of 514. In the writing portion of the SAT, DoDEA's mean score was 489, equal to the national mean score.

The 2011 SAT mean total scores for the nation and DoDEA declined in comparison with 2010. The nation's mean total score for the SAT exam was down 9 points from 1509 in 2010 to 1500 in 2011. DoDEA's mean total score on the 2011 SAT was 1487, down 16 points from DoDEA's 2010 results.

The high SAT participation rate indicates that more DoDEA high school students are considering and preparing for college attendance. Based on results, DoDEA will focus its efforts on developing and implementing programs and practices that prepare every student for success in college. DoDEA is reviewing nationally recognized and stronger SAT preparation programs that would allow students to take advantage of virtual exam preparation programs.

DoDEA has been reviewing its mathematics program over the past several years to restructure its curriculum and refine instructional practices to improve student performance in this content area. With the beginning of School Year 2011-2012, new mathematics instructional materials were delivered to schools to provide focus on addressing conceptual understanding of mathematics concepts. DoDEA has also placed secondary school mathematics specialists in each district to support efforts to improve mathematics instruction in secondary schools, provide teachers with training that focuses on implementing technology resources, and improve formative assessment practices that will identify individual student needs and help to better differentiate instruction. Educational researchers will also work with districts to assist curriculum specialists in analyzing PSAT data to identify areas of weakness and evaluate instruction in classrooms.

The 2011 SAT results reflect a change in the way the College-Bound Seniors cohort was determined. Traditionally the College Board, who administers the SAT, included only those students who tested for the SAT through March of their senior year in the College-Bound Seniors cohort. However, the College Board observed a trend in which more seniors were taking the SAT for the first time in May or June of their senior year. Beginning with the Class of 2011, College-Bound Seniors cohort data reflects all students in a graduating class who took the SAT at least once through June of their senior year. College-Bound Seniors data (full cohort to include Seniors taking the SAT in May or June) will use the 2011 results as the benchmark for future trends.

Critical Reading, Math, and Writing results for the DoDEA system, and the nation are reported in the table below. The DoDEA overall participation rate in the SAT exam remains substantially higher than the nation's participation rate.

SAT Report for the Nation and DoDEA
High School Graduating Classes of 2007 - 2011*
* Beginning with the 2011 Graduating Class, SAT reports will include all students who tested through June of their senior year.
AVERAGE SAT SCORES
SAT Scores range from 200 (lowest) to 800 (highest)
  Year Number of SAT-Takers Percent Participation Mean Critical Reading Mean Math Score Mean Writing Score
NATION 2011* 1,647,123 50% 497 514 489
NATION 2010 1,597,329 47% 501 516 492
NATION 2009 1,530,128 46% 501 515 493
NATION 2008 1,518,859 45% 502 515 494
NATION 2007 1,494,531 48% 502 515 494
DoDEA 2011* 2,382 74% 503 495 489
DoDEA 2010 2,164 68% 510 499 494
DoDEA 2009 2,010 67% 505 498 492
DoDEA 2008 1,982 66% 509 499 492
DoDEA 2007 2,111 65% 512 501 495

SAT results and participation rates for the nation, DoDEA, DoDEA Americas, DoDEA Europe, and DoDEA Pacific are reported in the table below:

SAT Report for the Nation and DoDEA
High School Graduating Classes of 2007 - 2011*
* Beginning with the 2011 Graduating Class, SAT reports will include all students who tested through June of their senior year.
AVERAGE SAT SCORES
SAT Scores range from 200 (lowest) to 800 (highest)
  Number of SAT-Takers Percent Participation Mean Critical Reading Mean Math Score Mean Writing Score
NATION 1,647,123 50% 497 514 489
DoDEA 2,382 74% 503 495 489
DoDEA Americas 210 43% 475 467 466
DoDEA Europe 1,373 79% 514 498 497
DoDEA Pacific 799 79% 492 496 482
Performance of African-American Students

DoDEA's African-American students continue to perform better on the SAT overall than their national counterparts as well as in all three subjective areas assessed.

  • DoDEA's African-American students' 2011 Mean Total Score of 1315 is 43 points higher than their peers' national Mean Total Score of 1272.
  • DoDEA's African-American students' 2011 Mean Critical Reading score of 447 is 19 points higher than the nation's 2011 Mean Critical Reading score of 428 for African American students.
  • DoDEA's African-American students' 2011 Mean Math score of 433 is 6 points higher than the nation's 2011 Mean Math score of 427 for African-American students.
  • DoDEA's African-American students' 2011 Mean Writing score of 435 is 18 points higher than the nation's 2011 Mean Writing score of 417 for African-American students.
2007-2011* SAT Results for African-American Students
*The Class of 2011 is the first class report to include all students who took the SAT through June of their senior year.
Average SAT Scores for Critical Reading, Math, and Writing
SAT Scores range from 200 (lowest) to 800 (highest)
African-American* 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011*
DoDEA Critical Reading 463 462 458 478 447
Nation Critical Reading 433 430 429 429 428
DoDEA Math 448 446 443 469 433
Nation Math 429 426 426 428 427
DoDEA Writing 455 447 445 450 435
Nation Writing 425 424 421 420 417
Performance of Hispanic Students

DoDEA's Hispanic students continue to perform better overall on the SAT than their national counterparts as well as in two of the three areas assessed.

  • DoDEA's Hispanic students' 2011 Mean Total Score of 1401 is 43 points higher than their peers' national Mean Total Score of 1358.
  • DoDEA's Hispanic students' 2011 Mean Critical Reading score of 476 is 25 points higher than the nation's 2011 Mean Critical Reading score of 451 for Hispanic students.
  • DoDEA's Hispanic students' 2011 Mean Math score of 456 is 7 points lower than the nation's 2011 Mean Math score of 463 for Hispanic students.
  • DoDEA's Hispanic students' 2011 Mean Writing score of 469 is 25 points higher than the nation's 2011 Mean Writing score of 444 for Hispanic students.
2007-2011* SAT Results for Hispanic Students
*The Class of 2011 is the first class report to include all students who took the SAT through June of their senior year.
Average SAT Scores for Critical Reading, Math, and Writing
SAT Scores range from 200 (lowest) to 800 (highest)
Hispanic 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011*
DoDEA Critical Reading 471 497 470 490 476
Nation Critical Reading 458 455 454 454 451
DoDEA Math 469 476 464 488 456
Nation Math 463 461 458 463 463
DoDEA Writing 462 477 458 457 469
Nation Writing 450 447 447 447 444

About the SAT:

In 2011, the number of May-June senior test-takers had grown to almost 3% of the national and 5% of the DoDEA graduating senior class. Beginning with the Class of 2011, SAT results will include all students in who took the SAT through June of their senior year to provide a more inclusive view of each graduating senior class. In the past, SAT results were reported for students who tested through March of their senior year.

The SAT Reasoning Test is a three-hour and 45 minute test that is a measure of the critical thinking skills related to successful performance in college. The SAT Reasoning Test is intended to supplement the secondary school record and other information about the student, in assessing readiness for college-level work.

For more information about the SAT Assessment, visit www.collegeboard.org.