The SAT Reclaims Its Lead As The More Popular Test* (Heavy on the asterisk)
Today, the College Board released the annual national report for the SAT for the Class of 2018, which contained a variety of data about this past year’s test takers. Various websites and news outlets have begun posting bits and pieces of the information online, but we wanted to summarize what we consider to be some of the main takeaways.
Key Takeaways:
- The national average SAT score for the Class of 2018 rose to 1068 (536 Reading/Writing, 531 Math), a slight increase from 1060 last year.
- Georgia’s average SAT score (public + private combined) had an average of 1064.
- Georgia’s public school students for the Class of 2018 had an average score of 1054 (Reading/Writing 537, Math 517).
- 2.1 million students took the SAT this year, an increase of 25% from last year. This makes sense as the waters calmed from the big SAT transition in which we saw many students shy away due to not wanting to be guinea pigs for the new SAT format. During that SAT transition year, we saw our company temporarily operate at an extreme tilt of 85% ACT / 15% SAT. Things are now more balanced; we are currently seeing a split that is closer to 65% ACT / 35% SAT (based on students choosing their stronger test after taking mock tests of each exam).
- The College Board notes that the SAT has taken the lead back in total number of test-takers, with 2 million compared to 1.9 million for the ACT. However, almost 1 million (almost half!) of these test-takers were students who took it during mandatory “SAT school day” testing, whereby entire districts of students are auto-enrolled to take the SAT during a school day administration, such as Atlanta Public Schools. Those built-in contractual 1 million students who took the School Day SAT make that claim probably accurate but a wee bit misleading.
- Summary of performance for major counties and systems:
- Fulton County – Average Score: 1091, +40 from last year
- Gwinnett County – Average Score: 1102, last year n/a
- DeKalb County – Average Score: 998, +18 from last year
- Atlanta Public Schools – Average Score 997, +5 from last year
- Cobb County – Average Score: 1107, +19 from last year
Either way, rather than focus on which test is “in the lead,” the best route for students to decide which test is better for them is to take a full-length, real mock test of both exams. We offer them weekly, and the full list of those tests will always be at this link. The two tests are like Visa and Mastercard: both are accepted everywhere equally. Simply identify your stronger test and put your efforts into studying for that test.
- If you’re a the parent of a sophomore, check out our popular blog post “What Can a Sophomore Parent Do This Year to Ensure a Smooth SAT/ACT Preparation Process?”
- If you’re the parent of a junior, taking mocks soon is of the utmost priority, since approximately 7 of the 14 SAT and ACT junior-year test dates have registration deadlines that have already passed, and since many of the spring test dates for the SAT and ACT have conflicts with various school functions (spring break, prom, AP exams, final exams, state swimming championship, et al.) The list of mock tests is here.
Questions? Email us at edison@edisonprep.com.
Additional Reading:
1. https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/more-than-2-million-students-in-the-class-of-2018-took-the-sat-highest-ever-300737581.html
2. https://www.insidehighered.com/admissions/article/2018/10/25/sat-scores-are-gaps-remain-significant-among-racial-and-ethnic-groups
3. https://www.politico.com/newsletters/morning-education/2018/10/25/sat-scores-rise-as-do-the-numbers-of-test-takers-388387
4. https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/2018/10/23/sat-reclaims-title-most-widely-used-college-admission-test/?noredirect=on&utm_term=.b6f86ef451e0
