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Principal James G. Fernandez
Phone: (301) 929-2200
Message from the Principal
News
Einstein Students Make Leap on SAT
Einstein seniors have made the biggest yearly increase in SAT scores among Montgomery public high school students, according to the latest data from the College Board.
The figures, compiled by the College Board and reported recently to the Montgomery school system, show that Einstein seniors who took the college readiness test as of December scored 131 points higher than the previous class of Einstein seniors.
That one-year jump is the best among the county's 25 high schools. Einstein students ranked 10th among public high school seniors, with an average score of 1632 on the three-part exam. A year earlier, Einstein seniors were tied for 18th place among the 25 schools.
Watkins Mill showed the second-highest yearly gain of 94 points. Most high schools showed rising scores by their seniors, but a few, such as Northwood and Richard Montgomery, had drops in average SAT scores.
Data from the College Board, which administers the SAT, also revealed a countywide drop in SAT test-taking among Montgomery seniors. Einstein administrators believe the drop may be attributable in part to students choosing other kinds of college entrance exams.
Einstein seniors showed the biggest yearly gains in Montgomery on the reading and writing sections of the SAT, and came in second in the county on improved math scores. The average reading score for Einstein seniors climbed 56 points to 546, the writing score rose 44 points to 543, and the math score rose 30 points to 543. The scores are out of a possible 800 on each section of the SAT.
Principal James Fernandez said the surge in scores at first surprised him, "but once I sat and thought about it, I was not as surprised. We have a lot of people who are focusing on individual kids. Thankfully, the kids listen to us. I think it's a great reward for the effort we've been putting in."
Gains Among Minority Student Subgroups
MIldred Charley-Greene, an assistant principal who's in her second year coordinating the school's SAT effort, said Einstein's improvement went deep, pointing out, "We saw gains across the (student) subgroups."
For example, she said, male Einstein seniors hiked their average overall score by 165 points, to 1660, while female students raised their score 106 points to 1611. African American students had a 167-point gain for an average score of 1489, Asian students raised their average score 115 points to 1606, and Hispanic seniors showed a 58-point rise, tallying a score of 1382. White students raised their average score 36 points to 1812. Click here to see SAT data charts. MCPS DATA & AEHS DATA
"While we celebrate the gains, there's a lot of work to be done," Charley-Greene said. She noted that the seniors' average SAT score fell short of the school's target score of 1650, a goal that the school sets for all its student subgroups as well.
There was an 8 percent drop in Einstein seniors who took the SAT through December, compared to seniors a year ago. About 42 percent of Einstein's current senior class of 361 students have taken the SAT, Charley-Greene said. The drop in participation was greater than the class average in certain student subgroups, such as Hispanics and Asians. Nearly every county high school showed lower SAT participation among seniors.
Charley-Greene said she believes that more students are taking the ACT college entrance exam or Montgomery College's assessment tests. Data on those test-takers are not as readily available as SAT figures.
She added that more Einstein seniors will take the SAT in 2010.
"By the end of the year, we don't feel we'll be off on participation that much," she said. "We have to give all kids a chance to take it, and some kids don't want to take it on the first administration."
Getting Ready All Year Long
Preparing students to take college entrance exams is a continual process at Einstein. Members of the school's SAT Committee hold individual advising sessions with rising juniors, helping them navigate through test-taking procedures and registrations. The school offers the online Triumph College Admissions Online StudyGuide test prep program to help students practice, and holds mock SAT and ACT tests, Charley-Greene said. Throughout the year, there are mentoring programs to coax greater achievement from groups of under-performing students.
Some students tell administrators they don't think their families can afford college, and staff members try to convince them to take another look.
"They are very surprised that there are resources out there," Charley-Greene said. "It's educating students and parents that college is not a big scary thing. There's a college for every kid."
Fernandez said Einstein has distinguished itself nationally as a high-performing public school, even though it has one of the highest poverty levels among its families in the county. MCPS data show that more than 37 percent of Einstein students receive lunch subsidies based on family income, and that 67 percent of students have received the subsidy at some time during their school career.
"You should have expectations for students no matter where they come from," Fernandez said. "I don't think people realize how hard we're working. The staff has made a commitment to this community and these kids."
--Susan DeFord
Assistant Principal Tamitha Campbell
Phone: (301) 929-2200
e-mail: Tamitha_E_Campbell@mcpsmd.org
- Grade 12
- Grade 11 (Goldring- Mirza)
- English Department
- Social Studies Department
- Unified Arts Department
- Counseling Department
Assistant Principal Nate Collins
Phone:(301) 929-2200
e-mail: Nathaniel_Collins@mcpsmd.org
- Grade 10
- Grade 11 (Missana - Zuniga)
- ESOL Department
- Math Department
- PE & Health Department
Assistant School Administrator Artie Brown
Phone:(301) 929-2200
e-mail: Artie_R_Brown@mcpsmd.org
Documents and Information
Albert Einstein's History