FAIRFIELD – After experiencing a 78-point jump in 2011, Fairfield County SAT scores dropped for the second straight year. The average composite score for Fairfield County students taking the standardized test fell 20 points in 2013, after falling 27 points in 2012. The number of students taking the SAT grew, from 62 test takers (30 percent) in 2012 to 70 (41 percent) in 2013. In 2011, the year scores soared 78 points, only 42 students (22 percent) took the test.
Average scores were down across the board in the tested subject areas of Critical Reading, Math and Writing. In 2013, the average score in Critical Reading was 400, down from 409 in 2012. Math scores fell from 418 in 2012 to 409 in 2013, and Writing scores were down from 395 in 2012 to 393 in 2013. The average composite score for Fairfield students fell from 1222 in 2012 to 1202 in 2013.
The average SAT composite score for all South Carolina graduating seniors was 1436, an increase of five points from 2012. The national average for all students held constant with a score of 1498. In South Carolina, the average Critical Reading score was 484, Math was 487 and Writing was 465; compared to the national average for all schools of 496, 514 and 488.
“Like the other college admission test ACT, the SAT is not a measure of school effectiveness,” State Superintendent of Education Mick Zais said. “However, within the student population taking the SAT is another data point confirming a troubling trend: there is a wide reading gap between South Carolina and the nation.”
