Some stories behind the SAT scores

When the 2004 SAT scores for Central Oregon high schools were published earlier this month, one set of numbers stood out like a palm tree in the High Desert: Compared with the year before, the scores for La Pine rose 71 points on the verbal section and 64 points on the math section.

In sheer magnitude of change, none of the other seven high schools in the region -- inluding Sisters -- came close. The next highest increases were 17 points on the verbal (Bend High School) and 27 points in math (Summit High, Bend).

By contrast, Sisters High School recorded a slight decline in its verbal average, a drop of four points, while increasing its math score by six points.

The SAT is the country's most widely used college entrance exam. Composed of verbal and math portions, its results serve as an indication of student ability and help predict success handling college-level work. The name SAT used to be an acronym for Scholastic Aptitude Test, but the full name has been dropped while the acronym survives.

Each section of the SAT is scored on a scale ranging from 200 to 800 points, a score of 800 being perfect. The results for the tests for 2003-04, taken by seniors who graduated last June, were published September 1.

The Oregon statewide average scores, 527 verbal and 528 math, were up one point each from the year before. The national average scores, 508 verbal and 518 math, were up one point in the first instance and down one in the second. Not much change.

In Central Oregon, the Sisters verbal average was 532, down four points from the year before.

That score was exceeded by three of the other high schools in the region -- La Pine 559, Bend High 534 and Summit 533. On the math test, Sisters participants averaged 531, up six points from the year before.

Their score was exceeded by averages of 561 at Mountain View (Bend), 559 at La Pine, 558 at Summit, and 547 at Bend High.

Sisters High School counselor Debbie Newport said, "We had 58 kids take this test out of about 95 (graduating seniors). That's a pretty high number, almost two thirds (61 percent) of our class."

She said 46 of the test-takers planned to attend four-year colleges, and were taking the test to gain admission. The other dozen were "going to community colleges or doing other things."

Interestingly, one of that dozen received the highest combined score of the entire group, 1390.

"So what we've done," Newport explained, "is that we encourage a lot of our kids to take the SAT because even if they're going to a community college or something, if they are going to a four-year college after that they're going to need those scores.

"And in some ways it's just a good thing for them to do. And that's very likely the reason our scores fluctuate a little bit from year to year, depending on the strength of...that additional (non-college-bound) population of kids taking the test."

She noted that 33 of the 58 test-takers in Sisters scored above the national average in combined math and verbal scores.

Sisters High Principal Bob Macauley confirmed Newport's notion that "we really encourage our kids to take the SAT...We advertise it, we want them to do this." At the same time, he said, "I think we can do better than we did this year. We're still higher than a lot, but at the same time we think we can do better."

He emphasized that the school has not relaxed its emphasis on high academic standards. In the current year, he noted, despite budget cuts "we have added AP (advanced placement) English to the curriculum and we were able to preserve all our honors and advanced classes. I think that our community expects that the scores reflect what's happening in the schools."

The emphasis on the proportion of eligible students taking the test is understandable. For example, the statewide reports note that Washington's SAT scores are No. 1 and Oregon's are No. 2 nationally among states in which at least 50 percent of graduating seniors take the test.

In some states, only a small proportion of students -- presumably the best -- take the SAT. Comparing their results with places like Oregon or Washington would clearly be misleading.

Which brings up the issue of La Pine. How did that small school, which is part of the Bend school district (formally the Bend-La Pine School District), produce such a remarkable increase in average SAT scores?

When the story first broke, Bob Olsen, the Bend district's director of assessment and research, said the number of students who took the test in La Pine declined dramatically, but he was unable to provide specific numbers.

Last week, however, Olsen had a full report on Bend-La Pine high school scores and participation rates. He told The Nugget that the proportion of eligible students taking the SAT tests in La Pine has declined sharply from 41 percent in 2000-01 to 17 percent last year and only 8 percent in 2003-04.

In absolute terms, only seven students took the tests on which the 2004 school averages were based. Olsen declined to speculate on the reason for this decline.

"I don't do speculation," he said flatly. "There's a very serious reason for that. If I start speculating and I speculate wrong, I lose the credibility I have for giving out the right numbers."

La Pine High School Principal Charlie Beck didn't speculate, either, but he did offer a significant piece of information that helps explain the mystery: "All of our juniors take the ACT."

ACT, like SAT, is a remnant acronym. It used to stand for the American College Testing program. The ACT test is an alternative to, and a competitor with, the SAT in the college entrance exam business, but less widely used.

Why do all La Pine juniors take it?

"A couple of years ago, we looked for opportunities" for students to take a general test that would "give them a chance to see where they stand," Beck explained. He said it turned out to be "easier to facilitate an entire class taking the ACT" than the SAT.

It's plausible that a number of college-bound La Pine students use their ACT test results and bypass the SAT, especially since the number of colleges requiring the SAT is on the decline.

Nonetheless, Beck said he didn't want to use that as "an excuse" for low participation on the SAT. He wants the participation rate to rise and is taking steps to see that it happens. Why?

"Because it's another measure, it tells students where they are. They're another tool for parents and kids to use when looking at their future, and the more information we have the better off we are."