News Release

IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 3, 2004
Contact: Janet Rope
Voice: (703) 588-3118
Email: Janet.Rope@hq.dodea.edu

2004 SAT Scores for DoDEA Released
Strong Gains in SAT Scores Reported for DoDEA's Minority Students

ARLINGTON, VIRGINIA—Dr. Joseph Tafoya, Director of the Department of Defense Education Activity (DoDEA), today announced the 2004 SAT I results for the system, showing a strong gain on the math portion of the test. The DoDEA results in math showed an increase of five points, from 498 in 2003, to 503 in 2004. Results on the verbal test showed a decrease of two points, from 510 in 2003, to 508 in 2004. Four DoDEA students earned a perfect score of 800 on the verbal test and four DoDEA students earned the top score of 800 in mathematics.

       Math and Verbal results for DoDEA, DDESS, DoDDS and the nation are reported in the table below.

       The DoDEA overall participation rate dropped from 68% in 2003 to 65% in 2004. However, DoDEA students' 2004 SAT I participation rate of 65% is still substantially higher than the national participation rate of 48%. Participation rate information for DoDEA, DDESS, DoDDS and the nation are reported in the table below.

*Because ACT is the primary college entrance exam for Ft. Campbell and Ft. Knox students, the DDESS participation rate for the SAT is normally lower than the rate for DoDDS.

      African-American students scored 40 points higher than their peers in the nation on the verbal test and 25 points higher in math in 2004. While the nation's African-American students' scores have remained static over the past three years, African-American students in DoDEA have made a strong gain of 14 points on the verbal test and raised the math score by 20 points from 2002.

      Hispanic students in DoDEA outperformed their stateside counterparts in 2004 by 18 points on the verbal test. DoDEA's Hispanic students increased their average math score from 2002 to 2004 by nine points, and scored four points higher than the national average for Hispanic students.

      The SAT I is a three-hour test that measures verbal and mathematical reasoning abilities, related to successful performance in college. SAT I scores range from 200 (lowest) to 800 (highest), with the 2004 national average score of 508 for the verbal test and 518 for math. The SAT I is intended to supplement the secondary school record and other information about the student, in assessing readiness for college-level work. SAT scores are required by about 80 percent of four-year colleges and universities that have admission requirement.

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