2000 Scholastic Assessment Test (SAT) Results for Montgomery County Public Schools

PROFICIENCY AND PARTICIPATION RATES

System-wide Proficiency

The average score on the Scholastic Assessment Test (SAT) for Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) students in 2000 was 1093. The Maryland average score was 1016 and the national average score was 1019. These large differences were the result of MCPS averages for the verbal and math sections of the SAT exceeding the averages for the state and the nation. MCPS surpassed the national score in verbal by 31 points and the math score by 43 points, for the total difference of 74 points. The MCPS results were 77 points higher than the state results--29 points higher in verbal and 48 points higher in math. For an explanation of which students are included in this analysis and other data explanations, see the Interpretation Guidelines.

2000 SAT Average Scores
	Verbal	Math	Total
MCPS	536	557	1093
State	507	509	1016
National	505	514	1019

The MCPS total was the result of a 557 on math and a 536 on verbal. The math average continued a 10-year upward trend resulting in a 15-point gain over that time. This was while the verbal scores remained fairly stable.

Comparisons with other districts of similar size in 1999 (see Table 1, below) show MCPS with substantially higher scores than all of them except Fairfax County, Virginia. It was not possible to get 2000 data from those districts in time for this report. However, as can be seen when reviewing MCPS data, results in large districts do not change much from year to year. The 1999 MCPS average was 1096 while the average in Fairfax was 1094. To put these results in perspective, the type of population in each district should be considered as well as the percent of students tested.

The type of population in each district is defined by the percent of students receiving free or reduced price meals (FARMS), the variable we use to define educational load. Two of the other districts, Fairfax County (18%) and Baltimore County (27%), have FARMS data similar to that of MCPS (23%). The MCPS scores are similar to those of Fairfax but well above those of Baltimore County (1008). The other districts included in Table 1 have FARMS data that are substantially higher (40% or more) than MCPS indicating they have a higher educational load.

When comparing averages for groups it is important to consider the percent tested because it is usually inversely related to group average scores. That is, as the percent tested of a group increases, the average score for the group declines. The only district in Table 1 with a similar percent tested to MCPS (79%) is Fairfax County (84%) and the average SAT scores are almost the same. The other districts have substantially lower percents tested (61% or less) and also have substantially lower SAT scores (1008 or lower). In most of these districts the lower SAT scores are probably related to their higher educational load.

Table 1 SAT Scores From Selected Large School Districts (Spring 1999)
County	Enrollment	% FARMS*	Math	Verbal	Total	% Tested
Dallas ISD
African American	157,622	69%	401	402	803	61%
Asian American			--	--	--
Hispanic			428	427	855
White			519	530	1049
Total			435	530	871
Fairfax County
African American	145,722	18%	465	476	941	84%
Asian American			571	511	1082
Hispanic			500	495	995
White			568	564	1132
Total			568	541	1094
Palm Beach County
African American	142,724	40%	427	436	863	53%
Asian American			--	--	--
Hispanic			486	490	976
White			524	524	1048
Total			503	503	1006
San Diego City Unified
African American	136,283	60%	429	426	855	Not Available**
Asian American			483	452	935
Hispanic			460	455	915
White			550	542	1092
Total			500	500	1000
Montgomery County
African American	125,023	23%	465	457	922	79%
Asian American			537	594	1131
Hispanic			485	488	973
White			569	580	1149
Total			556	540	1096
Baltimore County
African American	104,708	27%	412	432	844	54%
Asian American			555	507	1062
Hispanic			474	482	956
White			533	529	1062
Total			504	504	1008
* The data for Free and Reduced Meals reported in this table is for one year. This differs from the MCPS educational load which is the percent of students ever in FARMS.
** The San Diego City Unified School District is unable to provide this information.

System-wide SAT Participation Rate

Since we started tracking SAT data in 1973 the percentage of MCPS seniors taking the test increased from 62 percent to 80 percent of the enrollment. This level of participation is the highest for MCPS in that time. (See Table A1).

Four-Year School Trends in Proficiency and Participation Rates

Table 2 (below) shows SAT average scores and participation rates from 1997 to 2000 listed by schools in alphabetical order. (Details of school results are presented in Table A3.) Schools with statistically significant trends across the four years are indicated in Table 2 with the following symbols denoting the shape of the trend.

Trend Type	Symbol	Meaning
1		Consistently upward
2		Consistently downward
3		Upward with an interim reverse in direction
4		Higher in the interim years than in 1997 or 2000;
5		Lower in the interim years than in 1997 or 2000;
6		Change not significant

The statistical significance¹ is based on 4-year trends in which all of the years are considered, not just the beginning and ending year. Consistent trends such as the first two in the above table may seem fairly obvious whether the analysis is based on multiple or just two data points. However, even here the multiple year approach can improve the analysis because sometimes small, non-significant, year by year changes accumulate to significant changes over multiple years. The biggest advantage to the multiple year approach is seen in more complex patterns such as the horseshoe shaped ones on the 4th and 5th lines in the above table. Comparing only the first and last years in those patterns could lead to the conclusion that there has been no movement in the school's results. However, there was plenty of movement, either upward or downward, in the interim years.

¹Statistical significance testing is done to help determine whether group differences in average scores are very unlikely due to random fluctuation. If results are reported as significant, the probability of random differences is small. In this report differences will be reported as significant if this probability is less than 5%. This will be denoted by (p < .05) It should be noted that 'significant' does not always mean important. Small differences can be statistically significant for large groups. For example, for groups of 5,000, an 8-point difference in the SAT Total score is significant. It is debatable whether that is an important difference on a scale that ranges from 400 to 1600.

Another advantage of analyzing multiple years instead of just two years is that the number of students in the analysis is larger. This is important because it reduces the chances that 'significance' was the result of a few extreme cases.

Eight schools in Table 2 (below) showed statistically significant trends in SAT average scores (p < .05) between 1997 and 2000. Four of these schools showed upward trends, with two schools consistently upward and two schools significantly upward with some reversal during the interim years. One school showed a decline in SAT averages during the interim years followed by a recovery in 2000 to about the same level as 1997. Another school showed higher scores in 1998 and 1999 than in either 1997 or 2000. Two other schools showed consistent declines in SAT scores.

All schools but one showed the same or higher SAT participation rates in 2000 compared to 1997. In six schools the trends in SAT participation rates were consistently upward. In four schools the upward trends in SAT averages were accompanied by no systematic shifts in SAT participation rates. Also, in four other schools the upward trends in SAT participation rates were accompanied by no statistically significant trends in SAT averages. One of these schools, Rockville High School, showed both an increasing SAT average and an increasing participation rate. Another school, Wheaton High School, showed a downward trend in SAT averages along with an upward trend in SAT participation. John F. Kennedy High School showed a similar pattern, although the downward trend in SAT averages was, as noted above, only marginally significant (p .06).

The SAT participation rate provides one indicator of the academic "opportunity structure" of a school. Of course, there are other, more detailed indicators of students' participation in a rigorous academic program. However, the SAT participation provides an important focus for a student to plan and prepare for college throughout the high school years. Therefore it is important to maintain this academic opportunity structure in the face of increasing educational challenges in the community. The percentage of students who have ever participated in free and reduced price meals (FARMS) provides significant indication of the educational challenges that confront a school. Since 1997, 16 high schools have shown an increase in the percentage of students who ever participated in FARMS, usually in small increments each year (see Table 3, below). In all, annual increments in FARMS have been the pattern of change throughout MCPS over the past 20 years. Three schools showed statistically significant upward trends in FARMS and still maintained or increased their SAT participation rates. One school in particular, Wheaton High School, showed a 19 percentage-point increase in SAT participation rate despite an 11 percentage point increase in FARMS.

Table 2 SAT Participation Rates and Average Total Scores by School, 1997 to 2000
School	Participation: Percentage of Students Tested					Proficiency: Mean Total Score
	97	98	99	00	Trend 97-00	97	98	99	00	Trend 97-00
Bethesda-Chevy Chase	84	78	90	89		1093	1092	1112	1128
Blair	70	70	75	72		1142	1135	1134	1124
Churchill	97	96	97	97		1173	1162	1191	1198
Damascus	68	69	71	80		1068	1063	1081	1062
Einstein	65	64	62	65		982	987	974	973
Gaithersburg	64	70	63	69		1031	1031	1056	1044
Walter Johnson	84	89	94	91		1132	1134	1124	1147
Kennedy	67	62	75	75		992	993	977	958
Magruder	74	74	83	75		1079	1093	1095	1089
Richard Montgomery	78	76	76	81		1212	1198	1207	1205
Northwest	--	--	--	76		--	--	--	1036
Paint Branch	78	82	81	82		1054	1031	1046	1029
Poolesville	65	77	81	80		1082	1081	1099	1064
Quince Orchard	80	80	76	80		1067	1102	1104	1075
Rockville	74	68	70	75		1045	1081	1071	1093
Seneca Valley	66	64	69	70		1000	1010	998	1023
Sherwood	84	82	78	79		1032	1078	1050	1065
Springbrook	73	76	80	82		1025	1050	1042	1054
Walt Whitman	95	99	100	10 0		1202	1178	1223	1220
Watkins Mill	70	73	74	72		1093	1059	1050	1053
Wheaton	49	54	59	68		997	968	943	930
Wootton	92	90	96	92		1190	1163	1173	1198

Table 3 School 1997-2000 Educational Load and SAT Participation
School	Percentage (%) Educational Load*					Percentage of Students Tested
	97	98	99	00	Trend 97-00	97	98	99	00	Trend 97-00
Bethesda-Chevy Chase	26	30	26	22		84	78	90	89
Blair	45	42	47	46		70	70	75	72
Churchill	7	8	7	8		97	96	97	97
Damascus	12	13	12	17		68	69	71	80
Einstein	54	55	55	53		65	64	62	65
Gaithersburg	39	38	38	38		64	70	63	69
Walter Johnson	14	16	19	18		84	89	94	91
Kennedy	43	46	44	50		67	62	75	75
Magruder	23	25	23	26		74	74	83	75
Richard Montgomery	24	27	27	28		78	76	76	81
Northwest	--	--	--	29		--	--	--	76
Paint Branch	23	26	27	28		78	82	81	82
Poolesville	12	19	14	13		65	77	81	80
Quince Orchard	20	20	22	26		80	80	76	80
Rockville	33	33	36	38		74	68	70	75
Seneca Valley	34	38	39	36		66	64	69	70
Sherwood	22	19	22	17		84	82	78	79
Springbrook	37	40	38	40		73	76	80	82
Walt Whitman	5	5	7	5		95	99	100	100
Watkins Mill	29	28	35	34		70	73	74	72
Wheaton	57	61	64	68		49	54	59	68
Wootton	8	10	14	10		92	90	96	92
* Educational Load is calculated as the percentage of students in the school who ever received free of reduced priced meals.

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Last Updated on September 13, 2000