Academic Rigor + Practice = SAT Success

This week the College Board released SAT data for the class of 2009. The good news is that the student population taking the 2009 SAT is more diverse than ever before – 40% of SAT takers were students of color, 36% of SAT takers would be first-generation college students, and 25% of SAT takers reported that English wasn’t their first language (or not their only first language).

The bad news is that there are still large disparities between groups of students. For example, the average score on the math section for students whose families earn between $20,000-40,000 was 475, while the average score on the math section for students whose families earn more than $200,000 was 579 and the average score on the writing section for African-American students was 421, while for White students the average score on the writing section was 517.

Strong SAT performance appears to be correlated with at least three factors: completing a strong core curriculum in high school; taking the most academically rigorous courses available and practicing for the SAT by taking the PSAT/NMSQT.

Core Curriculum in High School
Students who completed a core curriculum that included 4 or more years of English, 3 or more years of math, 3 or more years of natural science, and 3 or more years of social science or history had the highest SAT scores. For example, students who took such a core curriculum scored 46 points higher on the critical reading section than students who did not.

Rigorous Classes
Students who took AP or honors classes had higher average SAT scores. For example, students who took AP or honors math classes scored 79 points higher on the math section compared to the average math score.

Practice, Practice, Practice
Students who were familiar with the test and had taken the PSAT/NMSQT had higher average SAT scores. For example, students who took the PSAT/NMSQT scored 45 points higher on the writing section than students who didn’t take the PSAT/NMSQT.

For more SAT data, see the College Board reports.

Elements of effective academic support

More and more schools, districts and states are coming to realize what Breakthrough has known, and has been working towards, for the past 30 years – that underserved students need more access to rigorous courses. But as many point out, access without support is a recipe for failure. This month’s research brief -Elements of Effective Academic Support - synthesizes the research on steps programs can take to enhance the effectiveness of their support for students who are struggling to meet high standards.

Expanding Access to AP Classes

A recently released report from the National Governors Association(NGA) -Raising Rigor, Getting Results: Lessons from AP Expansion -refutes one of the main arguments against providing greater access to rigorous courses, namely that opening up access will necessitate diluting the rigor of the course and/or overall performance in the course will noticeably decline.

The report analyzes the results of a pilot project to expand access to AP courses in 51 high schools in rural and urban school districts and found that the number of students taking AP courses in these schools rose by 65% and the number of minority and low-income students taking AP exams more than doubled in two years. Although the percentage of students in the pilot schools earning a “3″ or higher on the AP exams is lower than the national average, the percentage of students earning a “3″ or higher in these pilot schools is increasing at a faster rate than the national average.

The report also describes the strategies states used to improve AP enrollment and success: expanding access to AP courses, building teacher and student capacity, and creating incentives for schools and students.