The Iowa Department of Education says Iowa students had the highest composite scores in the nation on the S.A.T. college entrance exam for reading, math and writing. Education Department spokesperson Elaine Watkins-Miller says the number of students taking the test is much lower compared to the A.C.T. exam.
She says about three percent of the 2009 graduating class took the S.A.T. Watkins-Miller says even though it’s a small sample, they scores are still used to give a picture of how Iowa students are doing. Watkins-Miller says they still look at these scores along with other indicators like the A.C.T. scores and graduation rates, and she says they do take into account the number of students that take the S.A.T. Watkins-Miller says the scores show good results.
She says Iowa is number one in reading, math and writing and there have been good increases in those scores over 10 years. The Iowa composite scores for the S.A.T. were 610 in critical reading, compared to a national mean score of 501; 615 in math, compared to a national mean score of 515, and 588 in writing, compared to a national mean score of 493.
The 10-year change shows a 16-point increase in reading and 17-point increase in math. Complete results are available on the College Board’s website at www.collegeboard.com. Iowa finished second in the overall composite scores for the A.C.T. entrance exam. Fifty-nine-percent of the graduating class took the A.C.T.’s.