All Fayette schools in top 24%, all Coweta schools in top 26% in state
The SAT tests taken by high schools students have changed again. In the new tests, the average scores in Fayette and Coweta counties per high school bested the state and nation, and puts all Fayette schools in the top 24 percent and all Coweta schools in the top 26 percent of high schools taking the tests in Georgia.
The new SAT was redesigned in 2016, and comes with maximum scores of 800 in evidence-based reading and writing (ERW) and 800 in math.
Fayette school system spokesperson Melinda Berry-Dreisbach said Fayette students outperformed both the nation and state on the new SAT that measures ERW and math, according to results released by the College Board. The same held true for Coweta students, according to Coweta County School System spokesman Dean Jackson.
Berry-Dreisbach said Fayette students recorded a mean total score of 1,119, compared to the national mean of 1,060 and state mean of 1,050. In a comparative breakdown of the total mean score, Fayette had an ERW mean of 568 with the nation posting a 533 mean and the state a 535 mean. In math, Fayette had a mean of 552 compared to the nation’s mean of 527 and the state’s mean of 515.
In Coweta, Jackson said Coweta students recorded a mean total score of 1,079. Coweta had an ERW of 552 and a math mean score of 528.
Out of the 386 Georgia high schools with 2017 SAT scores, Fayette’s schools are all in the top 24 percent in the state with the highest total mean scores.
Viewed individually in Fayette:
• McIntosh was fifth highest in the state, or the top 1 percent, with a total mean score of 1,202 (ERW-603 and math-599)
• Starr’s Mill High was 23rd in the state, or the top 6 percent, with a total mean score of 1,142 (ERW-580 and math-562)
• Whitewater High was 33rd in the state, or the top 8 percent, with a total mean score of 1,116 (ERW-573 and math-542)
• Sandy Creek High was 59th in the state, or the top 15 percent, with a total mean score of 1,080 (ERW-544 and math-535)
• Fayette County High was 91st in the state, or the top 24 percent, with a total mean score of 1,039 (ERW-528 and math-511)
Viewed individually in Coweta:
• Northgate High was 56th in the state, or the top 15 percent, with a total mean score of 1,102 (ERW-562 and math-540)
• East Coweta High was 95th in the state, or the top 25 percent, with a total mean score of 1,070 (ERW-546 and math-523)
• Newnan High was 98th in the state, or the top 26 percent, with a mean score of 1,068 (ERW-547 and math-521)
Berry-Dreisbach said the 2017 SAT results set a new baseline for future year-to-year comparisons and cannot be compared to previous results. Results from earlier reports were based on the old SAT, which was based on a different score scale and different bench marks. The 2017 results reflect test-takers from the 2017 graduating class who took the new SAT (93 percent of the cohort). They do not factor in performance on the old SAT.
Jackson noted that significantly more Georgia students take the SAT than the nationwide percentage, with 61 percent of Georgia graduates in the class of 2017 taking the SAT during high school, compared to 47 percent percent of graduates nationally.
