JONESBORO — Clayton County continues to lag behind the state and nation on SAT and ACT test scores, according to statistics presented to the Clayton County Board of Education in an Oct. 30 work session.
For the 2023 graduating class, Clayton County had a mean composite SAT score of 919 — compared to 1045 in the state and 1003 nationally.
On the ACT scores for the 2023 graduating class, Clayton County had an average composite score of 17.0 — compared to 21.3 in the state and 19.5 nationally.
On the SAT scores, Clayton County dropped 20 points in 2023 but nationally, scores dropped by 47 points and state dropped by 15 points.
On the ACT scores, Clayton County has been fairly consistent since 2019 with a low of 17.0 in 2023 and a high of 18.7 in 2021.
Deputy Superintendent of Teaching and Learning & Strategic Improvement Delphia Young said the main key to improving the College Board test scores is the students must be taught at the level of the standards.
She added that test preparation for students who have severe deficits isn’t effective but it does help students who are already strong but need a little help and support to improve their scores.
She also said the core instructional program this year will pay dividends in the future.
“We may not see all of the impact this year but over time, the next two years, we’re going to see tremendous gains. We’re already seeing some of the gains already in our math assessments that are predicting our students performance on the future Georgia Milestones,” she said and added that improvements should be made in SAT and ACT performance.
She said it goes back to the “quality instruction that we’re providing our students” and the professional development for teachers and leaders.
Intensive tutoring, such as the recent AIR (Actions Intended for Results) program, will also help students.
The 2023…
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