Attleboro High School SAT Scores Above State and National Average

continues show progress in measurable ways with the release of the school’s recent SAT scores, graduation rate and drop-out rate, all of which have improved, the School Committee said on Tuesday night.

The school’s average SAT Writing scores have improved from 487 in 2006 to 518 in 2010. The 518 score is better than both the state and national averages, which are 509 and 492 respectively. The school showed drastic improvement from 2008, which was the low point in the five-year period with a score of 483.

Attleboro High's Principal Jeffrey Newman couldn’t pinpoint one factor that led to the improvement, instead pointing to the cumulative effect of multiple small changes.

“We’ve finally brought in all of our resources together,” Newman said.

"This is about the students and their achievements and that is where we need to focus our attention," Mayor Kevin Dumas said. "We have come to far, way too far to even think about going backwards. Our SATs and graduation rates blew the state average."

 The SAT Math scores showed similar improvements, with scores rising from 493 in 2006 to 529 in 2010. These again are above the state and national averages, which are 527 for the state and 516 nationally. 

The school showed improvement in the Critical Reading as well, going from an average score of 484 in 2006 to a mark of 498 in 2010. The score, however, still remain below the state average of 501 and the national average of 512.

The significant improvement from the 2008 scores and the two subsequent years was attributed to the implementation of AP courses as well as making the more advanced math classes, such as Algebra II, a requirement.

“We’ve moved away from some of our non-college level courses,” Mathematics Department Coordinator Patricia Izzi said.

Additionally the school now provides an SAT prep class during school hours as well as an after school program for students who could not fit the class in their schedule.

The district’s Business Manager Mark Furtado also noted that the school’s improvement over the last year is even more significant given the slight decline in the state and national averages over the past year.

Over this same period the school also showed marked improvement in its graduation rate and drop-out rate. The graduation rate showed steady progress over the five year period with gains made each year and an average improvement of 2.65 percent each year. In 2006, Attleboro High School's graduation was 71.6 percent, 8.3 percent lower than the state average, but by 2010 it was up to 82.2 percent, 0.1 percent higher than the state average.

The school’s drop-out rate averaged 5 percent from 2006 to 2009 before being cut in half to 2.5 percent in 2010 and brought the school under the state average of 2.9 percent.

"This is absolutely outstanding," School Committee Member Helen Johnson said. "It’s a proud moment."

Frances Zito echoed Johnson’s sentiment saying, “It just shows what a high caliber high school we have here.”

Principal Newman attributed improvement in both areas to the school’s Evening Diploma Program, which offers an alternative for students who otherwise may have dropped out.

Additionally, he says a change in attitude has been instilled in the teachers which puts the responsibility for the graduation and drop out rates on the teachers rather than the students. Newman said the former attitude, which was often “The kids come in and they either do the work or they don’t,” is a thing of the past.

These improvements have also been reflected in the number of graduates the school now sends to college– 80 percent.