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Average SAT score slips
Compiled from Times wires
© St. Petersburg Times
published August 28, 2002
TALLAHASSEE -- The average Florida score on the SAT college entrance exam edged down for the third year in 2002, data released Tuesday show.
But state officials pointed out that the number of students taking the test greatly increased.
The average score of high school seniors taking the 2002 test was 995, down 2 points from last year and 3 from the year before.
The average U.S. score held steady at 1020.
In Florida, nearly 57,400 students took the SAT this year, up 8 percent from 2001. And the test takers were more diverse: Participation by blacks increased 5 percent; by Hispanics, 11 percent.
Five Tampa Bay area school districts saw their scores slip this year in both the math and verbal parts of the test, although they remained above state averages.
In Citrus County, the average composite score dropped 11 points to 1022. In Hernando, it fell 13 points to 991. Pasco saw a 9-point drop to 998, and Pinellas a 10-point decrease to 1028. Hillsborough's average dropped 7 points to 998.
Last year, roughly 60 percent of Pinellas' graduating seniors took the SAT. This year the percentage swelled to 65 percent.
"It's always a good sign when more kids are taking it," said Pinellas testing director Alex Epanchin. "But that often brings the scores down a little."
Hillsborough officials also connect a rising participation rate with a drop in scores. Fifty-five percent of eligible students in Hillsborough took the test last year, compared with 57 percent this year.
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