SAT Trends.

Summary - SAT Trends
Florida and the Nation1
Overall Trends in Scores and Number of Test Takers (Pages 1-3)
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Florida students graduating in 2009 scored an average of 995 on the combined SAT critical reading and math sections, two points higher than last year. 2 Both Florida’s reading score and the math score went up one point.
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The combined score for the U.S. was 1016, one point lower than in 2008. The reading score for the U.S. went down one point while the math score was the same as last year.
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Florida’s writing score went down one point, as did the writing score for the nation.
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Florida continues to have a significantly larger percentage of graduates taking the SAT than is true nationwide. This makes comparisons of Florida scores with scores of the nation problematic, since typically, the larger the percentage of students taking a test, the lower the average score is likely to be.
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The number of Florida test takers increased by two percent, up from 98,578 in 2008 to 100,179 in 2009. The represents 58% of all 2009 graduates, about the same as last year.
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Nationwide, the number of test takers as a percentage of the graduates was 46%, 12 percentage points lower than Florida.
Profile of the 2009 Test Takers Compared to Prior Years
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The profile of Florida test takers continues to look less like that of the nation. This can be seen in such trends as the percentage of minority test takers, average family income, and the percentage of first-generation of college attendees. (See pages 3, 11, 17, 18.)
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The percentage of Florida test takers from minority racial-ethnic groups has been increasing steadily. In 1988 minority test takers represented about one fourth of the test takers (24%); in 2009, minority test takers represented 48%. (See page 12.)
Nationwide, the percentage of minority test takers has also been increasing but at a slower rate than in Florida. In 1988, minorities represented 23% of the test takers nationwide, about the same as in Florida. By 2009 the percentage had increased to 42%, with Asians, whose scores are typically well above average, representing 10.9 % of the total, compared to 4.6% for Florida. (See page 3.)
1All SAT information in the text, tables, and graphs of this report was derived from data provided by The College Board. Copyright © 2009 by The College Board. All rights reserved. www.collegeboard.com.
2All references to the total SAT score in this report refer to the critical reading score + the math score.
Summary - SAT Trends - 2009 Page ii
Uses of the SAT in Florida
SAT is a college entrance examination taken voluntarily by the students at times and test sites set by the testing company. Examples of ways in which SAT scores (or, alternatively, concordant ACT scores) are used in Florida include the following:
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For admissions to a state university, along with high school grade point average (GPA) and other factors. Eligibility is determined by a sliding scale, depending on the student's GPA. For instance, a student with a GPA of 2.9 or higher can meet the eligibility requirement with an SAT combined score (math + reading) of 970 while a student with a GPA of 2.0 needs an SAT score of 1140.
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For meeting qualifications for the Bright Futures Scholarship Program. For instance, a Florida Academic Scholars Award requires an SAT score of 1270, while a Florida Medallion Scholars Award requires a score of 970.
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For placement into regular college courses. Students who present an SAT critical reading score of 440 and a mathematics score of 440 may be exempted from taking the Florida College Entry-Level Placement Test. The Florida College Entry-Level Placement Test is used to place students either in regular college courses or college preparatory courses.
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For admissions to a state university under the Talented 20 Program. In order to be eligible for the Talented 20 Program, a student must take either the SAT or the ACT.
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As an alternative to satisfy FCAT requirements for high school graduation. Since 2003, high school students who have failed to achieve the required minimum score on the tenth grade FCAT, after three attempts, have the option of substituting a minimum score of 410 on the SAT reading or a 370 on the SAT math sections (or concordant scores on the ACT) for FCAT. Students who have failed FCAT and attempt to use this option, whether or not they achieve the minimum SAT score, are likely to impact the state SAT mean score.
Course-taking Patterns of SAT Test Takers (Pages 6-8)
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The more rigorous courses students have taken in high school, the higher SAT scores are likely to be. For example, Florida students who have taken calculus have an average SAT math score of 604, compared to 450 for those students whose highest math course was Algebra II. (See page 6)
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In science, test takers who have taken or will have taken physics have an average SAT total score of 1069. The average score for all test takers who have taken chemistry is 1023. Among those test takers who reported their science courses, 58% reported they will have taken four years or more of science by the time they graduate.3
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