Education

Student AP scores improve, SAT scores down slightly, district says

Staff reports newsroom@islandpacket.com

Beaufort County School District students' scores on college Advanced Placement exams continued to improve in 2015, the College Board reported Thursday. High school seniors' average scores on SAT exams dipped slightly, but Beaufort County's ranking relative to other districts improved.

Half of the Beaufort County students who took Advanced Placement courses last school year scored high enough to earn college credit, according to 2015 data from the College Board.

AP courses -- and the accompanying College Board exams that demonstrate mastery of the course material -- let students earn college credit while still in high school. Last school year, 50 percent of Beaufort County's AP students scored 3 or better on the tests' five-point scale, qualifying them for college credit. That was up slightly from 48 percent in 2010.

District officials said they were encouraged by long-term increases in the numbers of district high school students taking AP courses. For the 2014-15 school year, 1,584 AP exams were taken compared to 1,288 in 2010.

Among local high schools over the past five years:

  • Battery Creek High increased the number of AP exams taken from 7 in 2010 to 102 in 2015. Forty percent scored high enough for college credit in 2015, up from zero percent five years ago.
  • Beaufort High increased the number of AP exams from 417 in 2010 to 607 in 2015. Thirty-nine percent scored high enough for college credit in 2015, compared to 28 percent in 2010.
  • Bluffton High increased the number of AP exams from 418 in 2010 to 506 in 2015. Sixty-eight percent scored high enough for college credit in 2015, compared to 58 percent in 2010.
  • Hilton Head Island High decreased the number of AP exams from 446 in 2010 to 369 in 2015 (as students exercised the option to take International Baccalaureate courses offered at the school). Forty-two percent scored high enough for college credit in 2015, down slightly from 43 percent in 2010.
  • Whale Branch Early College High offers college courses through its partnership with the Technical College of the Lowcountry rather than offering AP courses through the College Board.

    • Average 2015 SAT scores for county public school seniors decreased slightly, from 1,424 in 2014 to 1,422 in 2015. Looking at five-year trend data, Beaufort County public school students' average SAT score is up six points, from 1,416 for 2010 seniors to 1,422.

    Average scores at four of the district's five high schools improved:

    • Battery Creek High's average was 1,314, up from 1,280 last year (54 percent of seniors tested).
    • Beaufort High's average was 1,451, down from 1,471 last year (63 percent of seniors tested).
    • Bluffton High's average was 1,447, up from 1,437 last year (69 percent of seniors tested).
    • Hilton Head Island High's average was 1,490, up from 1,477 last year (81 percent of seniors tested).
    • Whale Branch Early College High's average was 1,211, down from 1,246 last year (63 percent of seniors tested).

    Statewide, South Carolina's overall 2015 state public school average decreased slightly, from 1,429 in 2014 to 1,428 in 2015.

    In terms of average scores for high school seniors, Beaufort County ranked 26th among the state's 82 districts in 2015 compared to its 39th-place ranking among 85 districts in 2010.

    Beaufort County ranked fourth statewide in the percentage of 2015 seniors taking the SAT (68 percent), up from its ninth-place ranking in 2010 (59 percent).

    This story was originally published September 18, 2015 at 4:04 PM with the headline "Student AP scores improve, SAT scores down slightly, district says."

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