AUGUSTA, Maine – Last spring, high school juniors across the state took their SATs rather than the MEA test, and Education Commissioner Susan Gendron said she is committed to using the SAT for grade 11 assessment for the long term.
“Having all students take the SAT is a key component of our effort to ensure that all students graduate high school ‘College, Career, and Citizenship-ready,’” said Gendron of the first-ever statewide administration of the SAT, noting that the initiative raises expectations for all students in that they can pursue post-secondary education, and it helps create a more equal opportunity for all students to succeed.
The use of the college admissions assessment test in place of the MEA exam last spring was initially met with resistance from some lawmakers and educators, but Gendron said federal education officials, including President Bush, have been strong in their encouragement of Maine’s efforts to promote post-secondary education, and having all students take the college admissions assessment test known as the SAT clearly supports that goal.
“This gives us an excellent baseline from which to judge future student and school performance,” Gendron said. “Every school has a beginning point, and now it’s up to every school to say, ‘How do we raise expectations and performance?’”
SAD 1 Superintendent Gehrig Johnson said it will take a couple of years to accumulate enough data to know whether the SAT testing is a good idea.
“It’s a baseline year … a new situation for us taking the SATs, so there’s nothing to compare to,” he said. “However, we are pleased with the testing and had a high turnout. Our participation rate was 96 percent, and the state wanted us to have 95 percent, so we exceeded their expectation.
“In addition, our scores were very good … all above the state average,” said Johnson. “We did very well, while the state average went down on the SAT from last year to this year.”
The test results, which are available online at the Department of Education Web site, show what percentage of students at each public Maine high school exceeded, met, partially met, or did not meet the standards set for student achievement in mathematics, reading, and writing.
Statewide, 45 percent of all students were shown to meet or exceed the standards in reading, 47 percent in math, and 46 percent in writing.
In SAD 1, 49 percent of the students met or exceeded the standards in reading, 54 percent in math, and 48 percent in writing.
“Our scores went up against the state average which is very good news for us,” said Johnson.
Ellen Schneider, SAD 1’s curriculum director, said the SAT has the potential “to be a very good test that would be on par with the MEA or perhaps even better.”
“It is pretty early to know for sure being that we’ve only had it one year,” she said. “[The state] is looking at making some revisions to pieces of it, but if it’s aligned with the Learning Results as it is now, and if it provides kids not only the opportunity to show they’re matching up against the Learning Results but also to take a test that they can use to look at going into college, then I think that’s got to be good for kids.
“In the past, kids who have wanted to take the SATs had to pay for it,” said Schneider. “Now it’s a free test, so everyone can take it regardless of their financial situation.”
Once the SATs have been administered for a couple of years, Schneider said it will give administrators a “better picture” of trends, as well as areas of strengths and weaknesses.
In nearby Easton, Superintendent Frank Keenan agreed that it’s too soon to compare the SATs to the MEAs.
“It’s too soon to make any judgments as to the results and how they compare to what the MEA results were like because they’re two totally different tests,” he said. “However, our kids scored on them very well and we thought they would.
“We’re well above the state average which says a lot about our school system,” said Keenan. “Comparing them to others who took the same test, they compared very well. This will become a baseline test for the state, as well as the individual schools, and then we’ll be able to compare from class to class.”
In Easton, 67 percent of the students met or exceeded the standards in reading, 73 percent in math, and 56 percent in writing.
With 18 students’ results being recorded, Keenan said a small class size can both help or harm a district’s test scores.
“Overall we feel as though we do benefit from having small classes and having a lot of support for the kids. For juniors, we have a student-to-teacher ratio of around 10 or 12 to one,” he said. “I think that’s a positive.
“However, in a small school like us, the fluctuations can be huge because of the small numbers of kids in the test pool. If you get a real small class and have a handful of outstanding kids, they can pull the scores up higher. If you have a handful of kids who struggle, they can pull the scores down. It has a bigger impact in a smaller setting.”
Keenan said other keys to the school system’s success include quality instructors, a rigorous curriculum, and having a variety of options for students.
One drawback with the SAT testing is that the exam is given on a Saturday.
“That’s very challenging for school districts,” said Keenan. “If it was given during the school day, it would be better for us and the participation rate would likely be higher. It’s a lot of pressure … Saturday is the kids’ day off, and now they’re having to come to school, and if you don’t get 95 percent of them there testing, you’re identified as a failing school.”
While the numbers are not directly comparable to the previous year’s achievement levels on the MEA, Gendron said they are somewhat higher. A periodic review and changes to the standards and assessment methods led to changes in achievement scores in all grades from 3 to 11.
The average SAT score for the state dropped noticeably, since 95 percent of all students took the test, as opposed to the 73 percent of students in the previous year.
“The testing this time included a whole layer of students not previously part of the pool – students who do not necessarily anticipate applying to college,” said Dan Hupp, the SAT coordinator and math specialist for the state Department of Education.
The average SAT scores dropped from 501, 501, and 491 for reading, math and writing, for the Class of 2006, to 443, 444, and 435 for the Class of 2007. Gendron said she and others had anticipated an even greater drop, due to the much wider group of test-takers.
It’s the first time SATs were used in place of the Maine Educational Assessments to measure student progress in the third year of high school. Maine also became the first state to use the SAT to meet its grade 11-assessment requirements under the federal No Child Left Behind Act.
Statewide scores show that less than half of the Maine students tested met national standards in reading, math and writing.
The commissioner said the switch to the SAT is having a positive impact on students, especially those who never thought of going on to college. When they see scores showing they can consider post-high school education, many change their thinking in their senior year.
All results of previous state testing can be found online at www.maine.gov/education/mea/edmea.htm.
