Montgomery County’s Class of 2011 achieved the highest SAT scores in Maryland and outscored many other students across the nation, school officials said Wednesday.
The MCPS Class of 2011 had an average score of 1637 on the SAT, the second highest score ever attained by students at MCPS. The score is 145 points higher than graduates from the state of Maryland and 137 points higher than the nation’s seniors, according to data released by the College Board Wednesday.
SAT participation is also higher in Montgomery County, with 71 percent of MCPS seniors taking the college entrance exam at least once during their high school years. The participation rate in Maryland is 69 percent and 50 percent in the nation overall.
MCPS’ average score of 1637 represents a 10 point decrease from the previous year. The drop mirrors a downward trend across the nation, officials said, while noting that subgroups of MCPS students continue to outperform their peers statewide and nationally, and African American and Hispanic participation increased on the SAT.
Hispanic graduates from MCPS scored an average of 1477 on the SAT, eight points higher than 2010, and 37 points higher than Hispanic graduates in Maryland and 119 points higher than the nation’s.
African-American graduates at MCPS scored an average of 1382 on the SAT, seven points lower than 2010, but 113 points higher than Maryland’s African-American graduates and 110 points higher than the national average.
“We should be very proud that our students are performing so well on the SAT and that the participation of all students remains very high,” MCPS Superintendent of Schools Joshua P. Starr said in a statement. “We will study the SAT results—as we do with all test data—to inform our conversations about student performance and our instructional programs. As with every indicator, we always have room for improvement.”
