Fla. students lag behind national SAT, ACT scores
Florida students in the last year took the SAT in greater numbers than ever before, pushed by free test sessions at their schools, according to results for the class of 2018 released today.
But on both the SAT and the ACT — its rival college admission exam that released results last week — state students continued to lag behind the nation, particularly on the math section of the exams.
For Florida’s class of 2018, the average score on the SAT exam — which includes a math section and what is now called an “evidence-based reading and writing” section — was 1014, compared with a national mean of 1068. The SAT’s two sections can each earn scores of 200 to 800, so the best overall score possible is 1600.
On the ACT, where the top score is 36, Florida’s average composite score was a 19.9, slightly better than last year’s score but below the national average of 20.8.
About 97 percent of Florida’s class of 2018 took the SAT while in high school, up from 83 percent for the class of 2017. Sixtysix percent of the class took the ACT exam, down from 73 percent for the class of 2017.
The SAT gaining popularity in
Florida mirrored what has happened nationally. The SAT — which had lost ground to the ACT several years ago — is now the exam more students take.
About 2.1 million teenagers nationwide in the class of 2018 took the SAT, the highest number ever, according to the College Board, which makes the test.
Officials attributed the increase to many school districts, including those in Central Florida, offering free SAT “school day” events, where teenagers can take the exam during a regular school day with the cost covered by their schools, not their parents.
“Students have had the chance to take the SAT without any obstacles,” said Jane Dapkus, a vice president at the College Board, during a telephone briefing with reporters.
In the past, students had to take the SAT on a Saturday, with their families responsible for getting them there and paying the test fee, now at $47.50.
The school day program “absolutely has had a big effect” on the number of students taking the SAT, said Mike Gaudreau, executive director of secondary schools for the Seminole County school district.
The College Board also partnered with the Khan Academy to provide free, online SAT review lessons and practice tests. Gaudreau said those have proved a good resource and also helped make the SAT the more popular exam.
Florida students seeking admission to any of Florida’s state universities need to submit either an ACT or SAT score, so most collegebound students take at least one of the tests.
The average Florida SAT score this year was lower than last year’s of 1017, but scores typically drop as the number of test takers rise. Last year, more than 147,000 Florida students had an SAT score while this year it was nearly 177,000.
Florida’s average math SAT score was 493, 38 points below the national mark of 531. Its average reading score was 522 compared with the national mean of 536.
The ACT includes four sections — English, math, reading and science. Florida’s average scores on all sections were below the nation’s, but the biggest gaps were in math and science. Florida’s average ACT math score, for example, was 19.3 compared with 20.5 for the nation.
On both tests the percentage of students deemed “college ready” also was smaller than the national number. On the SAT, for example, 35 percent of Florida’s test takers met the college-ready benchmark — 480 on reading and 530 on math — compared with 47 percent nationally.