The College Board recently released the results of the SAT for the graduating class of 2016. Miami-Dade County Public Schools’ (M-DCPS) seniors out-shined their counterparts in Florida with reported increased scores in Reading, Mathematics and Writing.
“Our students continue to do exceptionally well on state and national assessments,” said Schools Superintendent Alberto M. Carvalho. “The results of the College Board SAT demonstrate that our students are not only outpacing their state and national counterparts, but are emerging from high school with superior college and career readiness skills. They are fully engaged academically and our instructional staff and programs are among the best in the nation. All of Miami-Dade County should revel in this outstanding achievement for our students and teachers.”
These results summarize the performance of the students in the class of 2016, who may have taken the assessments at any point in high school prior to March 2016. For students who took the test more than once, only the most recent test scores are included in the analyses.
Highlights of the results include the M-DCPS graduating seniors’ mean scores increased significantly in all three subjects tested, Reading, Mathematics, and Writing; while the mean scores for the nation and Florida declined; mean SAT subject area scores increased by 16 points in Critical Reading, by 12 points in Mathematics, and by 13 points in Writing; outscored Florida on the SAT in Critical Reading, with a mean scale score of 483, as compared to 481 statewide; and mean Critical Reading scores were as high or higher than statewide averages in 34 senior high schools, Mathematics scores were higher in 28 schools, and Writing scores were higher in 29 schools.
In comparison to the nation, M-DCPS’ students’ mean scores at 25 senior high schools were as high as or higher than the national average in Reading, 16 schools in Mathematics, and 21 schools in Writing. Students and teachers were provided with a variety of SAT prep materials, online resources, and advanced level professional development in content-area instruction to strengthen the teaching strategies and content area skills assessed by the SAT.
The increase in SAT scores is consistent with the increase in Advanced Placement scores in subjects such as AP English, AP Calculus, and AP Statistics. The 2016 AP data indicates that increased numbers of students participated in these AP courses, along with increased passing rates on these cumulative AP exams. This data speaks to the increased rigor of instruction, and depth and complexity of the content area teaching; all skills that are transferable to student performance on the SAT college entrance exam.