Idaho’s SAT math scores dropped in April — and it’s potentially a warning sign, according to a top state education official.
The drop in 11th graders’ SAT scores compounds another round of troubling news. This spring, only 30 percent of 10th graders received proficient math scores on Idaho’s new statewide exam, the so-called SBAC test that is aligned to the Common Core standards.
The SAT and SBAC results suggest the state may need to rethink its approach to high school math — and preparing high school students for math assessments, said Pete Koehler, state superintendent Sherri Ybarra’s chief deputy.
“It’s telling us that what we’re doing is not necessarily getting to all of our students,” Koehler told Idaho Education News this week.
On Friday, Ybarra’s State Department of Education released results from Idaho’s April 15 “SAT Day,” when 16,792 high school juniors took the college-entrance exam on the state’s nickel. Idaho’s average score came in at 1,353 out of a possible 2,400 points — a 10-point drop from 2014. The change can be linked almost entirely to a 12-point drop in math scores; writing and critical reading scores were almost unchanged.
Click here to continue reading this story from Idaho Education News.