Charleston, W.Va. – West Virginia public school students are climbing up the academic ladder. West Virginia 2005 public high school graduates showed growth in the mean verbal score on the College Board SAT and continue to outperform their classmates nationally. The score increased from 521 in 2004 to 524; a change of 3 points. Nationally, public high school graduates mean verbal score increased to 505 from 504 in 2004.  

“Graduates and teachers can be very proud of the 2005 SAT scores,” said State Superintendent of Schools Steve Paine. “We are committed to not only preparing our students for continued learning but also preparing them to compete in a global economy.”  

The mathematics mean score remained the same as the 2004 score of 514. This score is slightly below the national average of 515 for public high school graduates.  

African American public school students showed the greatest growth of any of the subgroups. The verbal score increased from 442 in 2004 to 468 in 2005 and the mathematics mean score increased from 415 in 2004 to 447 in 2005.  

“We are pleased to see our African American students improve their SAT scores at an extraordinary level,” said Paine. “The SAT scores reflect the same increases we saw in the data released just last week as part of West Virginia Achieves. Ninety-three percent of state schools accountable for the African American subgroup met Adequate Yearly Progress as determined by the WESTEST.”  

Approximately 20% of 2005 West Virginia high school graduates took the SAT. The 2,804 public school students who took the SAT represent 81% of the total number (3,480) of West Virginia test takers.  

When the SAT scores of all West Virginia 2005 high school graduates (public and nonpublic such as private schools and home schooled students) are aggregated, the scores slightly differ from those of public school graduates. The verbal mean for all graduates is 523. The mathematics mean score for all graduates is 511.