NORWALK, Conn. – Norwalk students overall showed improvement in SAT Colllege Board scores in 2013, but Superintendent of Schools Manny Rivera expressed concern in a memo dated Sept 27 to Board of Education members about the rate of participation of black students in the SAT Reasoning Test program.
Rivera said data shows that black students comprise 19.2 percent of the test takers in 2013, down from 21.6 percent in 2012. In addition, black students scores dropped six points in reading and one point in writing, and gained a point in math.
Overall, Norwalk’s Class of 2013 had 522 seniors take the SAT – a standard test used by most colleges to help determine admission – a 74.9 percent participation rate, on par with the 2012 rate, the memo said. Participation was up at Brien McMahon from 72 percent to 77.5 percent, while it fell at Norwalk High from 79.4 percent to 75.9 percent.
White students made up 41.6 percent of the test takers, down .3 percent from a year ago. White students in the Class of 2013 posted solid gains: eight points in math, 10 points in reading and 12 points in writing.
Hispanic students made up 28.9 percent of the tests takers, up from 24.8 percent a year earlier. Students who identified as “Other Hispanic” gained 11 points in math and one point in writing, the memo said. Reading scored, though, dropped five points. Still, the 2013 average SAT scores for Norwalk’s Hispanic students were higher than comparable subgroups at the state and national level, the memo said.
The SAT Benchmark Score of 1550 is a strong predictor of success in college. In 2013, 36 percent of Norwalk students taking the test hit the benchmark, compared with 43 percent nationally, according to the memo. In 2012, Norwalk’s rate was 30 percent. The national figure is based on students from public, religious and independent schools.
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