Hawai'i sees drop in SAT scores

By Jennifer Hiller
Advertiser Education Writer

Hawai'i's college-bound public school students held steady on the verbal portion of the 2003 College Board SAT and declined in math, for an average combined score of 951.

The combined average score of all Hawai'i public and private school students was 1,002, compared with a national average of 1,026.

The national mark represents the highest score in 36 years in math and 16 years in verbal, according to the College Board, which administers the country's most popular college entrance exam.

In Hawai'i, the performance of independent- and religious-school students slid on both portions of the test this year. Although both groups scored higher than the national average on math, they fell short on the verbal test.

"While this year's results are discouraging, the multi-year trend still demonstrates improvement," said state schools Superintendent Pat Hamamoto. "Future years will tell us if scores are rising and if 2003 was just an off year.

"One ray of light is that public school verbal scores held steady, while all other scores declined."

Since 1999, public school students have improved three points in math and four points on verbal.

During the last 10 years, the combined scores of the state's public, independent and religious schools have improved 14 points in math and nine points in the verbal section.

Most colleges base admissions decisions at least in part on SAT scores.

In Hawai'i, public school students scored an average of 462, on a scale of 200 to 800, the same as in 2002. In math, they slid four points, to 489.

Religious school students dropped eight points in math, to 547; they declined three points in verbal, to 522.

Independent school students had the highest average scores in the state, but fell two points in math, to 597; verbal scores dropped two points, to 548.

More than 1.4 million students —48 percent of 2003 high school graduates — took the test, including 7,438 students in Hawai'i, 54 percent of the Class of 2003.

In Hawai'i, more females than males took the test. But males had higher average scores: 488 versus 485 on verbal, and 529 versus 509 on math.

Complete College Board SAT results can be found at www.collegeboard.com.

The SAT, administered since 1926, has come under fire in recent years for the emphasis placed on standardized test scores in college admissions and for achievement gaps between white students and non-Asian minorities.

Reach Jennifer Hiller at jhiller@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8084.