HCPSS Students Outpace Others In ACT/SAT Scores

HOWARD CITY, MD — Students in the Howard County Public School System continue to outperform their peers across the state and nation in their performances on the SAT and ACT. More than 80 percent of HCPSS 2019 graduates took the SAT and/or ACT. Of these, 76 percent met the benchmarks for post-secondary success identified by the Maryland State Department of Education, which are SAT scores of at least 530 in mathematics and 480 in evidence-based reading and writing (ERW), and ACT scores at or above 21.

The mean composite score on the SAT was 1202 for the HCPSS Class of 2019, according to the HCPSS. While showing a slight decline from the 2018 composite score of 1206, HCPSS results compared favorably to scores for Maryland schools at 1058, and 1059 for schools nationally. Among SAT subtests, the HCPSS average score was 606 for math and 596 for ERW.

Approximately one-fourth of HCPSS Class of 2019 graduates took the ACT, with a mean composite score of 25.6, outpacing scores for the state and nation of 22.3 and 20.7, respectively. The HCPSS mean subtest scores were 25.8 in reading, 25.4 in math, 25.5 in English and 25.2 in science. Gaps remain among HCPSS student groups in the levels of participation and performance in the SAT and ACT.