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Education News
North Carolina Education News
September 2008
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IN
THIS ISSUE:
NC Students Fain on SAT; Gap with Nation Narrows to
10 Points
Algebra II End of Course Exam to Measure College Preparedness
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NC's Advanced Placement participation and performance
also up
North Carolina's average SAT score in 2008 increased,
bringing the state to within 10 points of the nation's average, according to
information released today by The College Board. North Carolina's average SAT
score was 1,007, and the nation's was 1,017.
North Carolina's improvements on the SAT were reported
along with performance on Advanced Placement (AP) tests, another measure of
college-readiness. On the AP tests, North Carolina students increased their
participation, the number of tests they took and the number of tests they
passed. The number of participants was up by 5.9 percent with a total of 45,704
students taking more than 85,000 exams. The percentage of AP exams that
received passing scores (generally considered scores of 3, 4 or 5) also
increased by 5.1 percent to 49,508.
Among the "SAT states," those with more than
50 percent of students taking the SAT, North Carolina is tied with Vermont as
the state with the second largest 10-year improvement in average scores. South
Carolina has the largest improvement during that time, although its average
score, 985, is lower than North Carolina's.
The number of test takers in the state increased to
56,442, a 2.4 percent increase over 2007. The percentage of students taking the
SAT in North Carolina was 63 percent in 2008, according to recently revised
projections of state participation rates. This rate places the state 15th among
the 50 states and the District of Columbia. Because The College Board revised
the participation rate calculations in 2008, the organization cautions against
comparisons with prior years' rates. The College Board uses an enrollment
projection provided by the Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education.
North Carolina's math score on the SAT gained 2 points
in 2008 from 509 in 2007 to 511 in 2008. Nationally, the math score in 2008 was
515, the same as the 2007 score.
North Carolina's critical reading score on the SAT was
496 in 2008, up one point from 495.
The nation stayed the same in reading, with an average
score of 502.
Scores nationwide have dropped or remained static for
the last three years.
Among the Southeastern states, North Carolina continues
to have an average score that is higher than the Southeast mean of 999. The
Southeast region score includes scores from Florida, Georgia, North Carolina,
South Carolina and Virginia.
The number of students taking the SAT increased across
all identified racial categories, although performance varied among the racial
categories. Asian, Black, Puerto Rican and White students increased their
average scores. American Indian and Other Hispanic students' scores dropped,
and Mexican American students' scores stayed the same overall.
The SAT is one of the college admissions tests widely
accepted and required by colleges and universities and the one most commonly
taken in North Carolina. The other test, taken by 14 percent of North Carolina
students (13,054), is the ACT. North Carolina students also increased their
performance on the ACT college admissions exam in 2008, scoring two-tenths of a
point higher than the national average, according to results released by the
ACT earlier this month.
North Carolina students also out performed the nation on
the ACT for the first time in at least five years. North Carolina's average
composite score increased by 0.3 points from 2007 to 2008 and totaled 21.3
points. The national average composite score decreased by 0.1 points to 21.1
total points. The ACT considers a change of 0.3 points significant. The ACT is
scored on a scale of 1 to 36, with 36 being the highest possible score.
A record number of students in the class of
2008 took the SAT this year, with a higher percentage of first-generation
students than last year and a high rate of minority student participation, the
College Board announced today. This yearÕs average scores mirror those of last
year, indicating that student performance held steady despite the increase in
the number of test-takers.
The number of SAT takers rose to more than 1.5 million (1,518,859),
an 8 percent increase from five years ago and a 29.5 percent increase from 10
years ago. The SAT continues to be the nationÕs most widely taken standardized
college admissions test. Combined with high school grades, the SAT is also the
best predictor of college success.
Average scores for the class of 2008
remained stable at 502 for critical reading, 515 for mathematics and 494 for
writing.
SAT
Takers in the Class of 2008
á
This
yearÕs class is the most diverse class on record with historic increases in the
number of Hispanic, African American and Asian American students taking the
test.
á
Minority
SAT takers comprised 40 percent of all test-takers, up from 33 percent 10 years
ago.
á
The
number of first-generation students has increased over the last decade and from
last year. In the class of 2008, 36 percent were first-generation students,
compared to 35 percent in the class of 2007.
á
Females
have narrowed the performance gap with males in critical reading, closing the
gap to 4 points, compared with 7 points a decade ago, and females continue to
outperform males on the writing section Ñ by 13 points this year.
á
A
record number of students in the class of 2008 received fee waivers, with
221,962 students qualifying for and receiving them. This indicates an increase
in the number of traditionally underserved students preparing for college
success.
á
The
writing section of the SAT is the most predictive section of the test among all
racial and ethnic minority groups.
á
The
inclusion of the writing section has also contributed to an increased emphasis
on writing in the classroom.
Trends
in Participation
Minority SAT takers have experienced substantial growth in participation during the last decade. Hispanics have expanded the most rapidly, more than doubling in number. Growth among Asian Americans and African Americans reached 61 percent and 52 percent, respectively.
Female students continue to form a majority
of test-takers among all ethnic groups. Female students made up 57 percent of
Hispanic and 57 percent of African American SAT takers in 2008. More than half
of the Asian American (51 percent) and white test-takers (53 percent) were
women.
Low-income studentsÕ participation has also
remained steady. These students are increasingly taking advantage of the
College BoardÕs fee-waiver program, which granted $22 million in fee waivers
and free services to qualifying students in 2008. About one out of every seven
students in the 2008 cohort who took the SAT this year received free
registration for up to two SAT tests and two SAT Subject Testsª, four free
flexible score reports, and discounted SAT Readiness Programª materials.
The
North Carolina
Report is available here:
http://professionals.collegeboard.com/profdownload/North_Carolina_CBS_08.pdf
State's graduation rate up slightly for four and five
year rates
Slightly more high school students are graduating in
four years or less, according to North Carolina's four-year cohort graduation
rate for the graduating class of 2008. In 2008, 69.9 percent of the students
who started ninth grade in 2004-05 had completed high school in four years or
less. The four-year cohort graduation rate in 2007 (for those students who
entered ninth grade in 2003-04) was 69.5 percent.
Some students require a fifth year of high school in
order to complete graduation requirements. The five-year cohort graduation rate
for students who entered ninth grade in 2003-04 (class of 2007) also was
presented today, showing a five-year graduation rate of 71.8 percent, up from
the five-year rate for the 2002-03 ninth graders (Class of 2006) of 70.3
percent.
Since the fall of 2002, local school districts have been
keeping a careful accounting of each ninth grader as he or she moves through
high school. This record keeping provides the state with an accurate count of
how many students graduate with a diploma in four years. Today's report
provided four- and five-year cohort graduation rates for each of the state's
regular and charter public high schools, for each of the 115 school districts,
and for the state overall.
North Carolina is one of the first states to comply with
the agreement of the National Governors Association compact, a plan begun in
2005 by the nation's governors to implement a common formula to calculate each
state's graduation rate. In 2008, 16 states are using the NGA Compact formula.
While
69.9 percent is the current four-year cohort graduation rate, that does not
mean that 30.1 percent of the students have dropped out. There are students who
remain in high school beyond four years, and it is likely that some of them
will be counted in the next five-year cohort graduation rate when it is
reported in 2009.
Each
state sets its own rules about meeting high school graduation requirements. In
North Carolina, students who leave high school for a community college GED or
adult high school program are counted as dropouts under state policy. Also, the
cohort graduation rate does not count students with disabilities who complete
the 12th grade but do not qualify for a standard diploma and instead earn a
Certificate of Achievement or Graduation Certificate. In addition, school
officials only identify a student as a transfer to another high school when the
receiving school requests the student's records.
North
Carolina has a number of efforts underway to help strengthen the high school
experience for all students. These efforts include Learn and Earn/Early College
high school programs, which provide students with the opportunity to pursue a
rigorous five-year high school curriculum in which they can earn both a high
school diploma and an associate's degree or two years of college credit.
Eighteen new Learn and Earn schools will open this fall with a total of 60
operating at community colleges and universities across the state. Through the
support of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, North Carolina also has
created New Schools Project high schools that are designed to be more focused
and rigorous in smaller learning communities for students and teachers. For
2008-09, there are 42 of these redesigned schools in operation, including
schools focused on engineering, health care, and biotechnology.
Seventy-five
low-performing high schools and 40 low-performing middle schools are receiving
additional targeted assistance through the State Board of Education's
Turnaround Initiative, and the 200 lowest-performing middle schools have 21st
century literacy coaches to help ensure that students have the reading skills
they need to succeed in high school. Local districts also are implementing
ninth grade academies, career counseling and course credit recovery programs,
to address the needs of their students.
The
full report on the state's cohort rate is available online here:
http://ayp.ncpublicschools.org/2008/app/cgrdisag/
District
graduation reports are available here:
https://www.rep.dpi.state.nc.us/Reports/2008/grad_lea_state.xls
School
graduation reports are available here:
https://www.rep.dpi.state.nc.us/Reports/2008/grad_school.xls
Report
Shows States Working Jointly to Set the Bar Higher for High School Graduates
and Improve College Readiness
Achieve has released its annual report on the
first-of-its-kind multi-state exam. The exam was developed jointly by 14 states
based on shared expectations of what students need to learn to be prepared for
college mathematics courses. The test represents an ongoing policy shift in the
states that includes more rigorous and common mathematics standards and exams
and Algebra II as a required course.
The
test was administered in the spring of 2008 to nearly 90,000 students in the
following states: Arizona, Arkansas, Hawaii, Indiana, Kentucky, Minnesota, New Jersey,
North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island and Washington. Maryland and
Massachusetts are also members of the ADP Algebra II partnership and will
administer the exam when an online version becomes available in 2009.
That
students did not do well on this exam the first time out is no surprise,
continued Cohen. This exam sets a much higher bar than current high school
exams. Currently, too many students graduate from high school believing they
are prepared for college level work, but soon find they are not. In fact,
nearly one-quarter of first-year college students must take remedial courses in
mathematics.
http://www.achieve.org/2008Algebra2report