College Board releases SAT scores for Class of 2014
Seven high schools see increase; Highland exceeds state, national averages
Gaston County Schools’
average score on the Scholastic
Assessment Test (SAT) is 1423,
according to a report released
by the College Board.
The district’s average
represents the scores of
students in the Class of 2014
and the last time they took
the test. On the mathematics
section of the SAT, the average
score for Gaston County
Schools was 491. The average score on the verbal (critical reading)
section was 479, and the average score for writing was 453. The GCS
average for last year was 1424.
“The SAT average score for Gaston County Schools has remained
relatively consistent over the past few years,” stated Superintendent
of Schools W. Jeffrey Booker. “However, we want our SAT score to
increase. Our graduation and academic growth rates have increased,
and we want to see gains on the SAT in the coming years.”
Gaston County Schools offers honors and Advanced Placement
courses that require students to use critical thinking, problem-solving
and effective writing/communication skills. These skills are essential
to a student’s success on the SAT. The SAT review course also helps
to prepare students for the test.
Gaston students in the tenth or eleventh grade have an
opportunity to take the Preliminary Scholastic Assessment Test
(PSAT), which is a practice test that helps students to gain an
understanding of the SAT.
Booker added, “We plan to analyze the SAT scores for each
school and work with teachers and principals to determine what we
can do to improve student performance. We must continue to stress
the importance of developing a student’s critical thinking, problemsolving and writing skills – a student must possess these skills in
order to do well on the SAT.”
This year, GCS had fewer students to take the SAT – 1,047
students in the Class of 2014 took the test compared to 1,054 in the
Class of 2013 and 1,166 in the Class of 2012.
Since the state now requires all students to take the ACT
(American College Test), many students use results from the ACT for
college entrance instead of the SAT. Additionally, some colleges and
universities no longer require students to submit an SAT or ACT score
as part of the admission process.
The SAT is a standardized test administered by the College Board,
an educational organization that specializes in college readiness
programs and services. The SAT is used by colleges and universities
as one of several factors in predicting