SAT data show statewide drops in math, reading proficiency scores

Jul. 20—Mathematics scores in Scholastic Aptitude Tests taken by high-school students across New Hampshire declined this year as the disruptiveness of the COVID-19 pandemic continued to play out in assessment exams.

A perfect score on the math portion of the SAT, which is taken in 11th grade, is 800. This year, only 36 percent of New Hampshire students who took the test reached what is considered a proficient level, or a score of at least 530. Last year, 42 percent of test-takers had a proficient score.

"We know that these students, who will be starting their senior year in a few weeks, have had a high school career filled with disruptions, remote classes and missed learning," N.H. Education Commissioner Frank Edelblut said in a statement released Monday.

Individual school and district data for both the N.H. Statewide Assessment System exams and the SAT results will be released in the fall.

Robert Malay, superintendent for N.H. School Administrative Unit 29, which includes Keene and several other smaller local districts, said Tuesday the 11th-graders who took this year's SAT had a 2020 freshman year interrupted by COVID-19.

"All schools in New Hampshire sent students home and they learned remotely for the last three to four months [of 2020]," he said. "The following year when they were sophomores, they came back to a hybrid [system] and then remote and then back to a hybrid before they were fully onsite."

Even as this past school year started, distancing and face-mask protocols continued to be in place.

"So we really haven't had a traditional or normal [school year], or what is perceived to be normal since they've been in high school," Malay said.

He also said this year's 82 percent statewide participation rate for the SAT compared to 90 percent in 2019 is concerning because standardized tests are an important measuring tool for educators.

A bill Gov. Chris Sununu signed into law in 2018 gives parents the right to opt students out of statewide assessment tests.

In addition to math, the SAT includes a reading test, and 61 percent of New Hampshire juniors who participated this year registered a proficient score on that portion, compared to 63 percent in 2021.

The College Board, a not-for-profit company that develops and administers the SAT, said the average score for states that use the exam as a high-school accountability test declined about seven points in reading and 18 points in math when comparing 2022 with 2019 outcomes.

In New Hampshire, the decline in average scores was four points for reading and 16 points in math when comparing 2022 with 2019.

Meanwhile, Edelblut, the education commissioner, said some test scores did improve this year. For example, a total of 51 percent of 3rd-graders who took standardized math tests this year had a proficient score, compared to 45 percent last year. In 2019, prior to the pandemic, 57 percent had a proficient score.

"Assessment scores are inching upward and returning to near pre-pandemic levels, but it is clear that there is still work to be done to recover from the academic declines that resulted from COVID-19," Edelblut said.

Educators and researchers around the country have noted that the pandemic has had negative effects on education performance as born out in a variety of studies and reports.

Rick Green can be reached at rgreen@keenesentinel.com or 603-355-8567.