The Scoop: For the fifth year in a row, Georgia public-school students outperformed their counterparts in the nation’s public schools on the SAT — specifically, Georgia public school students recorded a mean score of 1052, which is 24 points higher than the national average for public school students of 1028.
The Scores: Georgia’s public-school class of 2022 recorded a mean score of 536 on the Evidence-Based Reading and Writing portion of the assessment, and a mean score of 516 on the math portion. That’s compared to averages of 521 and 507, respectively, for students in the nation’s public schools.
Scores were down compared to last year.: Georgia students’ 2022 mean score decreased compared to 2021, when the mean score was 1077, but is still higher than 2020’s mean score of 1043 and 2019’s mean score of 1048. Georgia public-school students’ lead over the national average has also grown during that time, from a nine-point gap in 2019 to a 24-point gap today.
The Explanation: State education officials say the drop is due to a sharp increase in participation. More students took the SAT compared to 2021, when the impacts of the pandemic — including the temporary waiver of SAT/ACT score requirements for University System of Georgia admissions, and the cancellation of some test registrations and closure of some test centers in 2020 — caused fewer students in the graduating class to take the SAT.
State education officials say 51% of Georgia’s class of 2022 took the SAT at some point during high school, compared to 38% of the class of 2021.
The Last Word: “Georgia public schools continue to exceed the national average on the SAT — that’s a testament to the hard work of students and teachers,” State School Superintendent Richard Woods said. “I am extremely proud of the class of 2022 and their educators, families, and communities who have invested in them. While students and schools have faced significant challenges over the last several years, as a state we will continue to invest in academic recovery and the opportunities available to every graduate of every Georgia public school.”
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