Decatur SAT scores highest in the state

The Scholastic Aptitude Test scores have been released and City Schools of Decatur has the highest system-level composite score in the state.
CSD students received a composite SAT score of 1583, which combines the scores of the mathematics, critical reading and writing tests.
“Decatur High School is the 30th highest performing high school of 414, ranking in the top 7 percent of all high schools in the state,” a press release from the school system says.
CSD, it should be noted, has only one high school.
“We continue to be excited about the performance of all students in Decatur,” Superintendent Dr. Phyllis Edwards said in a press release. “Closing the achievement gap and encouraging all students to take rigorous coursework continues to be a strong focus for City Schools of Decatur.”
Decatur High students improved on last year’s composite SAT score of 1528, bucking a statewide trend.
The Atlanta Journal Constitution reported that statewide SAT scores dropped from a composite of 1452 in 2013 to 1445 in 2014.
According to the Georgia Department of Education, “In math and critical reading, scores dropped by two points. In writing, scores dropped by three points. The mean score for critical reading was 488 in 2014, with mean scores of 485 for math and 472 for writing.”
In Decatur, those trends are going in the other direction.
According to CSD, “Critical Reading is up 24 points over five years, with Math and Writing both being up 23 points each over five years of data. Black students at DHS are up 26 points over five years in Critical Reading, up 9 points over five years in Math, and up 8 points over five years in Writing.”
Here are the scores from two other schools in our area: Jackson High and Druid Hills High.
Jackson High – 2014
Critical Reading: 396
Math: 386
Writing: 386
Composite: 1,168
Jackson High – 2013
Critical Reading: 400
Math: 414
Writing: 402
Composite: 1216
Druid Hills High – 2014
Critical Reading: 441
Math: 443
Writing: 440
Composite: 1324
Druid Hills High – 2013
Critical Reading: 474
Math: 459
Writing: 467
Composite: 1400
Decatur High – 2014
Critical Reading: 540
Math: 526
Writing: 517
Composite: 1583
Decatur High – 2013
Critical Reading: 520
Math: 512
Writing: 496
Composite: 1528
SAT 5-Year Performance, provided by City Schools of Decatur
CSD |
2010 |
2011 |
2012 |
2013 |
2014 |
Critical Reading | 516 | 516 | 539 | 520 | 540 |
Mathematics | 503 | 503 | 514 | 512 | 526 |
Writing | 494 | 499 | 517 | 496 | 517 |
GEORGIA |
2010 |
2011 |
2012 |
2013 |
2014 |
Critical Reading | 488 | 485 | 488 | 490 | 488 |
Mathematics | 489 | 487 | 489 | 487 | 485 |
Writing | 474 | 473 | 475 | 475 | 472 |
NATION |
2010 |
2011 |
2012 |
2013 |
2014 |
Critical Reading | 500 | 497 | 496 | 496 | 497 |
Mathematics | 515 | 514 | 514 | 514 | 513 |
Writing | 491 | 489 | 488 | 488 | 487 |