While Atlanta Public Schools saw an increase in SAT scores from 2013, the Fulton district held steady and DeKalb scores dropped.
District-wide APS combined scores from the writing, math and reading tests increased to 1343 from 1335.
Fulton scores held steady at 1567. “Our district’s overall score stayed constant this year, but most of our high schools saw increases,” Fulton Superintendent Robert Avossa said in a press release.
That did not include Sandy Springs schools, as North Springs dropped to 1519 from 1546, and Riverwood dropped to 1540 from 1557.
DeKalb scores overall dropped to 1228 in 2014 from 1341 in 2013, while the three public high schools serving Brookhaven and Dunwoody children also saw drops.
The DeKalb school system attributed that drop to an initiative to include all juniors in the test, which resulted in a 45 percent increase in those taking the SAT.
“The extraordinary increase in students taking the SAT test was a direct result of the SAT School Day Program, an initiative approved on Dec. 10, 2102, by the previous Board of Education,” read a statement from the system.
State Superintendent John Barge also attributed a slight statewide drop in scores to more students taking the test.
“Do we want to see scores go up every year? Absolutely,” he said in a press release. “However, we know that as more Georgia students take the SAT, we will sometimes see slight decreases. The measures are in place to better prepare students for college and 21st-century careers, and by extension, the SAT. The gains in scores will come.”
SAT Composite Scores* for 2014 & 2013
Composite Scores 2014 2013
APS District 1343 1335
North Atlanta High 1495 1441
DeKalb District 1228 1341
Chamblee High 1501 1619
Cross Keys High 1130 1299
Dunwoody High 1434 1540
Fulton District 1567 1567
North Springs High 1519 1546
Riverwood High 1540 1557
Composite scores are a total of critical reading, math and writing scores.