The Connecticut Department of Education released preliminary results from the first statewide administration of the SAT, according to a press release.
The data showed that 65 percent of students are proficient in English language arts (ELA), but just 39.3 percent are meeting expectations in mathematics.
Officials said these numbers can’t be compared to previous years because the SAT is redesigned and it was the first year the test was administered to all public school students. These numbers will be used as guidelines to measure future growth.
Last year, Connecticut won federal approval to replace the 11th grade Smarter Balanced assessment (SBAC) exam with the SAT. The switch was made to cut down on the amount of standardized testing given to public school students and also gave all public school students access to the SAT free of charge.
The newly released data shows that the majority of Connecticut students are struggling with math. It also revealed the achievement gaps – with only 36.4 percent of black students and 39 percent of Hispanic students meeting standards in ELA versus 77.4 percent of their white counterparts. In math 12.4 percent of black students and 15.5 percent of Hispanic students met the standard versus 49.9 percent of white students. There were also disparities among high need populations, such as English language learners, students with disabilities, and students with low income families.
“With the State Board of Education’s adoption of a five-year strategic plan focused on creating high quality education for all students, we remain fiercely committed to the work of supporting all districts — and especially our highest need districts — in their efforts to improve student outcomes and close achievement gaps,” Education Commissioner Wentzell said.
