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District SAT, ACT participation diverges: SAT takers fall, ACT remains main state assessment
Summary
District staff presented five years of SAT and ACT data showing a drop in average SAT scores and participation but a stable ACT participation rate (98%) with a slight decline in composite score to 16.6 in 2024.
District assessment staff presented a five‑year summary of SAT and ACT performance and participation for Randolph County high school students.
Presenter Meredith said the districts 2024 average SAT total score was 1,079, down from 1,111 in 2023; the state average in 2024 was 1,161. Meredith emphasized that only 55 students took the SAT in 2024 in the district, up from 36 the year before, and that most district students take the ACT because it is administered to eleventh graders as part of state accountability.
On the ACT, Meredith reported an average composite score of 16.6 in 2024, a slight decline from 16.7 the prior year. Participation on the ACT remained high at 98%, reflecting 1,079 eleventh graders tested. Staff noted the North Carolina Board of Governors target benchmark is 19 (it was 17 prior to a 2020 change).
Meredith said SAT participation has fallen in many schools because the ACT is required and many colleges are test‑optional, so fewer students self‑opt into SAT testing. The presenter also noted that several high schools tested fewer than 10 students each for the SAT in 2024, which triggers masking of the school‑level data in the report.
Board members asked clarifying questions about where SAT tests are administered and whether the district is required to provide SAT testing (it is not). Staff explained many SATs are administered at off‑site locations on Saturdays and that the district provides PSAT opportunities but not the SAT as a universal school‑day assessment.
Ending: Staff will place the five‑year assessment report in board materials; no policy actions were proposed at the meeting.
