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2000 Scholastic Assessment Test (SAT) Results for Montgomery County Public Schools

PROFICIENCY AND PARTICIPATION RATES

System-wide Proficiency

The average score on the Scholastic Assessment Test (SAT) for Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) students in 2000 was 1093. The Maryland average score was 1016 and the national average score was 1019. These large differences were the result of MCPS averages for the verbal and math sections of the SAT exceeding the averages for the state and the nation. MCPS surpassed the national score in verbal by 31 points and the math score by 43 points, for the total difference of 74 points. The MCPS results were 77 points higher than the state results--29 points higher in verbal and 48 points higher in math. For an explanation of which students are included in this analysis and other data explanations, see the Interpretation Guidelines.

2000 SAT Average Scores

Verbal Math Total
MCPS 536 557 1093
State 507 509 1016
National 505 514 1019

The MCPS total was the result of a 557 on math and a 536 on verbal. The math average continued a 10-year upward trend resulting in a 15-point gain over that time. This was while the verbal scores remained fairly stable.

Comparisons with other districts of similar size in 1999 (see Table 1, below) show MCPS with substantially higher scores than all of them except Fairfax County, Virginia. It was not possible to get 2000 data from those districts in time for this report. However, as can be seen when reviewing MCPS data, results in large districts do not change much from year to year. The 1999 MCPS average was 1096 while the average in Fairfax was 1094. To put these results in perspective, the type of population in each district should be considered as well as the percent of students tested.

The type of population in each district is defined by the percent of students receiving free or reduced price meals (FARMS), the variable we use to define educational load. Two of the other districts, Fairfax County (18%) and Baltimore County (27%), have FARMS data similar to that of MCPS (23%). The MCPS scores are similar to those of Fairfax but well above those of Baltimore County (1008). The other districts included in Table 1 have FARMS data that are substantially higher (40% or more) than MCPS indicating they have a higher educational load.

When comparing averages for groups it is important to consider the percent tested because it is usually inversely related to group average scores. That is, as the percent tested of a group increases, the average score for the group declines. The only district in Table 1 with a similar percent tested to MCPS (79%) is Fairfax County (84%) and the average SAT scores are almost the same. The other districts have substantially lower percents tested (61% or less) and also have substantially lower SAT scores (1008 or lower). In most of these districts the lower SAT scores are probably related to their higher educational load.

Table 1
SAT Scores From Selected Large School Districts (Spring 1999)
County Enrollment % FARMS* Math Verbal Total % Tested
Dallas ISD
African American 157,622 69% 401 402 803 61%
Asian American -- -- --
Hispanic 428 427 855
White 519 530 1049
Total 435 530 871
Fairfax County
African American 145,722 18% 465 476 941 84%
Asian American 571 511 1082
Hispanic 500 495 995
White 568 564 1132
Total 568 541 1094
Palm Beach County
African American 142,724 40% 427 436 863 53%
Asian American -- -- --
Hispanic 486 490 976
White 524 524 1048
Total 503 503 1006
San Diego City Unified
African American 136,283 60% 429 426 855 Not
Available**
Asian American 483 452 935
Hispanic 460 455 915
White 550 542 1092
Total 500 500 1000
Montgomery County
African American 125,023 23% 465 457 922 79%
Asian American 537 594 1131
Hispanic 485 488 973
White 569 580 1149
Total 556 540 1096
Baltimore County
African American 104,708 27% 412 432 844 54%
Asian American 555 507 1062
Hispanic 474 482 956
White 533 529 1062
Total 504 504 1008
* The data for Free and Reduced Meals reported in this table is for one year.
This differs from the MCPS educational load which is the percent of students ever in FARMS.
** The San Diego City Unified School District is unable to provide this information.

System-wide SAT Participation Rate

Since we started tracking SAT data in 1973 the percentage of MCPS seniors taking the test increased from 62 percent to 80 percent of the enrollment. This level of participation is the highest for MCPS in that time. (See Table A1).

Four-Year School Trends in Proficiency and Participation Rates

Table 2 (below) shows SAT average scores and participation rates from 1997 to 2000 listed by schools in alphabetical order. (Details of school results are presented in Table A3.) Schools with statistically significant trends across the four years are indicated in Table 2 with the following symbols denoting the shape of the trend.

Trend Type Symbol Meaning
1 Consistently upward
2 Consistently downward
3 Upward with an interim reverse in direction
4 Higher in the interim years than in 1997 or 2000;
5 Lower in the interim years than in 1997 or 2000;
6 Change not significant

The statistical significance1 is based on 4-year trends in which all of the years are considered, not just the beginning and ending year. Consistent trends such as the first two in the above table may seem fairly obvious whether the analysis is based on multiple or just two data points. However, even here the multiple year approach can improve the analysis because sometimes small, non-significant, year by year changes accumulate to significant changes over multiple years. The biggest advantage to the multiple year approach is seen in more complex patterns such as the horseshoe shaped ones on the 4th and 5th lines in the above table. Comparing only the first and last years in those patterns could lead to the conclusion that there has been no movement in the school's results. However, there was plenty of movement, either upward or downward, in the interim years.

1Statistical significance testing is done to help determine whether group differences in average scores are very unlikely due to random fluctuation. If results are reported as significant, the probability of random differences is small. In this report differences will be reported as significant if this probability is less than 5%. This will be denoted by (p < .05) It should be noted that 'significant' does not always mean important. Small differences can be statistically significant for large groups. For example, for groups of 5,000, an 8-point difference in the SAT Total score is significant. It is debatable whether that is an important difference on a scale that ranges from 400 to 1600.

Another advantage of analyzing multiple years instead of just two years is that the number of students in the analysis is larger. This is important because it reduces the chances that 'significance' was the result of a few extreme cases.

Eight schools in Table 2 (below) showed statistically significant trends in SAT average scores (p < .05) between 1997 and 2000. Four of these schools showed upward trends, with two schools consistently upward and two schools significantly upward with some reversal during the interim years. One school showed a decline in SAT averages during the interim years followed by a recovery in 2000 to about the same level as 1997. Another school showed higher scores in 1998 and 1999 than in either 1997 or 2000. Two other schools showed consistent declines in SAT scores.

All schools but one showed the same or higher SAT participation rates in 2000 compared to 1997. In six schools the trends in SAT participation rates were consistently upward. In four schools the upward trends in SAT averages were accompanied by no systematic shifts in SAT participation rates. Also, in four other schools the upward trends in SAT participation rates were accompanied by no statistically significant trends in SAT averages. One of these schools, Rockville High School, showed both an increasing SAT average and an increasing participation rate. Another school, Wheaton High School, showed a downward trend in SAT averages along with an upward trend in SAT participation. John F. Kennedy High School showed a similar pattern, although the downward trend in SAT averages was, as noted above, only marginally significant (p .06).

The SAT participation rate provides one indicator of the academic "opportunity structure" of a school. Of course, there are other, more detailed indicators of students' participation in a rigorous academic program. However, the SAT participation provides an important focus for a student to plan and prepare for college throughout the high school years. Therefore it is important to maintain this academic opportunity structure in the face of increasing educational challenges in the community. The percentage of students who have ever participated in free and reduced price meals (FARMS) provides significant indication of the educational challenges that confront a school. Since 1997, 16 high schools have shown an increase in the percentage of students who ever participated in FARMS, usually in small increments each year (see Table 3, below). In all, annual increments in FARMS have been the pattern of change throughout MCPS over the past 20 years. Three schools showed statistically significant upward trends in FARMS and still maintained or increased their SAT participation rates. One school in particular, Wheaton High School, showed a 19 percentage-point increase in SAT participation rate despite an 11 percentage point increase in FARMS.

Table 2
SAT Participation Rates and Average Total Scores by School, 1997 to 2000
School Participation:
Percentage of Students Tested
Proficiency:
Mean Total Score
97 98 99 00 Trend
97-00
97 98 99 00 Trend
97-00
Bethesda-Chevy Chase 84 78 90 89 1093 1092 1112 1128
Blair 70 70 75 72
1142 1135 1134 1124
Churchill 97 96 97 97
1173 1162 1191 1198
Damascus 68 69 71 80 1068 1063 1081 1062
Einstein 65 64 62 65
982 987 974 973
Gaithersburg 64 70 63 69
1031 1031 1056 1044
Walter Johnson 84 89 94 91 1132 1134 1124 1147
Kennedy 67 62 75 75 992 993 977 958
Magruder 74 74 83 75 1079 1093 1095 1089
Richard Montgomery 78 76 76 81
1212 1198 1207 1205
Northwest -- -- -- 76
-- -- -- 1036
Paint Branch 78 82 81 82
1054 1031 1046 1029
Poolesville 65 77 81 80
1082 1081 1099 1064
Quince Orchard 80 80 76 80
1067 1102 1104 1075
Rockville 74 68 70 75 1045 1081 1071 1093
Seneca Valley 66 64 69 70
1000 1010 998 1023
Sherwood 84 82 78 79
1032 1078 1050 1065
Springbrook 73 76 80 82 1025 1050 1042 1054
Walt Whitman 95 99 100 10 0
1202 1178 1223 1220
Watkins Mill 70 73 74 72
1093 1059 1050 1053
Wheaton 49 54 59 68 997 968 943 930
Wootton 92 90 96 92
1190 1163 1173 1198

Table 3
School 1997-2000 Educational Load and SAT Participation
School Percentage (%)
Educational Load*
Percentage of
Students Tested
97 98 99 00 Trend
97-00
97 98 99 00 Trend
97-00
Bethesda-Chevy Chase 26 30 26 22
84 78 90 89
Blair 45 42 47 46
70 70 75 72
Churchill 7 8 7 8
97 96 97 97
Damascus 12 13 12 17
68 69 71 80
Einstein 54 55 55 53
65 64 62 65
Gaithersburg 39 38 38 38
64 70 63 69
Walter Johnson 14 16 19 18
84 89 94 91
Kennedy 43 46 44 50
67 62 75 75
Magruder 23 25 23 26
74 74 83 75
Richard Montgomery 24 27 27 28
78 76 76 81
Northwest -- -- -- 29
-- -- -- 76
Paint Branch 23 26 27 28
78 82 81 82
Poolesville 12 19 14 13
65 77 81 80
Quince Orchard 20 20 22 26 80 80 76 80
Rockville 33 33 36 38
74 68 70 75
Seneca Valley 34 38 39 36
66 64 69 70
Sherwood 22 19 22 17
84 82 78 79
Springbrook 37 40 38 40
73 76 80 82
Walt Whitman 5 5 7 5
95 99 100 100
Watkins Mill 29 28 35 34 70 73 74 72
Wheaton 57 61 64 68 49 54 59 68
Wootton 8 10 14 10
92 90 96 92
* Educational Load is calculated as the percentage of students in the school
who ever received free of reduced priced meals.


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Last Updated on September 13, 2000