Roswell, Centennial Among Top 25 in State For SAT Scores

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The College Board on Thursday released results that show the Fulton County School System has more schools with high SAT performance than any other district in Georgia, the system said.

Eight Fulton schools also are among the top 25 highest scoring schools in the state, and nine schools reported increased scores from the previous year.

In addition, Fulton has the state’s second highest writing score.

“Our SAT scores are one measure that the public looks to for determining the quality of our high school programs. From year to year, there are shifts in scores, but what we consistently see is overall high performance in our district,” said Kenneth Zeff, interim superintendent. “Each year, we surpass the state and national averages, and this year, Fulton has eight of Georgia’s top scoring schools. This SAT data, combined with recent AP results, demonstrates that Fulton County Schools is continuing to prepare students for success.”

Fulton’s overall 2015 score were reported at 1558, while the state reported 1450 and the nation reported 1490. Fulton students surpassed their Georgia counterparts by 28 points in reading, 40 points in math and 40 points in writing, for an overall total of 108 points above the state average.

Students also passed their national peers in reading by 23 points, in math by 14 points and in writing by 31 points. Overall, Fulton exceeded the national average by 68 points.

The average scores for the Fulton County School System, state of Georgia and the nation:

Reading

• Fulton: 518
• State: 490
• National: 496

Writing

• Fulton: 525
• State: 485
• National: 511

Math

• Fulton: 515
• State: 475
• National: 484

Total

• Fulton: 1558
• State: 1450
• National: 1490

A significant factor in interpreting SAT scores is the proportion of eligible students taking the exam at least one time – the participation rate. In Fulton, 77 percent of graduates (4,899) participated in the SAT, 97 fewer students than last year.

Although rankings are not officially released, data shows that eight schools in Fulton are among the highest-scoring schools in Georgia.

• Northview High School – 1784 (No. 2)
• Alpharetta High School – 1689 (No. 7)
• Johns Creek High School – 1678 (No. 8)
• Chattahoochee High School – 1669 (No. 10)
• Milton High School – 1668 (No. 11)
• Roswell High School – 1649 (No. 16)
• Cambridge High School – 1643 (No. 18)
• Centennial High School – 1600 (No. 25)

While Northview technically ranks second in the state, the higher-scoring school had only 194 students taking the test. By comparison, 447 Northview students took the SAT in 2015.

Nine schools also reported increases from the previous year, including:

• Cambridge, from 1587 to 1643, a 56-point gain;
• Westlake High School, from 1295 to 1322, a 27-point gain;
• Banneker High School, from 1178 to 1196, an 18-point increase;
• Centennial: from 1577 to, 1600, a 23 point jump;
• Independence High School, from 1341 to 1459, a 118-point boost;
• Milton, from 1654 to 1668, a 14-points gain;
• Northview, from 1779 to 1784, a 5-point increase;
• Riverwood International Charter School, from 1540 to 1554, a 14-point boost; and
• Tri-Cities High School, from 1297 to 1316, a 19-point boost.

North Springs Charter High School’s score took a 46-point tumble, from 1,519 to 1,473.

In addition, four recent Fulton graduates earned a perfect 2400 score on the reading, math and writing sections of the exam, and 14 graduates had perfect scores (1600) on the reading and math sections.

Thirty-one percent of Fulton students scored at least 600 on the math section and 80 students received a perfect score of 800. Likewise, 25 percent of test-takers scored at least 600 on the reading or writing sections, with 40 students scoring a perfect score in reading and 33 students scoring a perfect score in writing.

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