Growth in Participation Linked to District Efforts to Provide Access to Assessment Opportunities for More Students

The Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) Class of 2018 earned an average combined SAT score of 1167, a 41-point increase from 2017, and 101 and 118 points higher than the Maryland and national averages, respectively.

For the Class of 2018, the SAT participation rate was 65.7 percent, a 12.7 percentage-point increase from 2017 to 2018. Last year, MCPS launched a new initiative to boost participation in the SAT and other assessments. The district covers the cost for all students who want to take the SAT, ACT or other career certification assessments.

 “Our students perform at high levels on the SAT and I am pleased to see that even more students are taking this assessment,” said Superintendent Jack Smith. “These results show that when you provide access, opportunity and support, you can improve outcomes for all students.”

Last year, the SAT results for 2017 graduates established a new baseline on the redesigned SAT. All racial/ethnic groups saw an increase in SAT total score from 2017 to 2018, with the largest gains observed for Asian students. African American MCPS graduates scored 1035 on the SAT, up 15 points from 2017 and significantly higher than their peers across the state (956) and the nation (946). Hispanic students also made gains in performance earning a score of 1044, a 7-point increase from 2017 and notably higher than their peers across the state (1036) and the nation (990).  

Evidence-based Reading and Writing (ERW) and Math are the two section tests offered to measure students’ knowledge and skills on the new SAT. Each section score ranges from 200 to 800 and the total score of the two sections ranges from 400 to 1600.

The College Board sets benchmarks for SAT ERW (480) and Math (530) to estimate college and career readiness. The SAT ERW benchmark indicates that a student has a 75 percent chance of earning a C or higher in first-semester, credit-bearing, college-level courses in history, literature, social science or writing. The SAT Math benchmark signifies the readiness for college courses of algebra, statistics, precalculus or calculus. Students are deemed ready to take or succeed in entry-level and credit-bearing college courses when they meet both benchmarks established by the College Board.

Detailed information on SAT participation and performance in MCPS may be accessed on the MCPS Data Dashboards.

• SAT Participation
• SAT Performance