For Immediate Release
Tuesday, August 26, 2003

Madison Student SAT Scores Remain Well Above State's and Nation's

Madison high school students taking the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) this past year scored significantly above the state and national averages while scoring nearly the exact same composite average as their Madison peers last year.

Madison students' composite score is 1241, down just one point compared to last year's 1242 composite. The 1241 Madison result is well over the state average composite of 1179, and significantly over the national average of 1026. (See tables below for details.)

The 2002-03 Madison class scored 635 on the math component compared to 636 the previous year, and 606 on the verbal portion of the exam, exactly the same as the previous year.

Participation by Madison students was at an all-time high this past year with 470 MMSD students, up from 445 the year before (5.6% increase.) The participation rate for seniors was 28%.

The SAT is a standardized collegiate admissions exam made up of verbal and math sections, with each section worth up to 800 points for a total of 1600.

Most Madison students take the ACT college entrance exam, with 68% of last year's seniors taking that assessment. Madison students taking the ACT also outperformed their state and national peers in results released earlier this month.

SAT Score Comparison by Year

Composite

Year      Madison   Wisconsin  US
2002-03   1241      1179      1026
2001-02   1242      1182      1020
2000-01   1229      1180      1020
1999-00   1257      1181      1019
1998-99   1248      1179      1016
1997-98   1254      1175      1017
1996-97   1247      1169      1016
1995-96   1229      1163      1013
1994-95   1219      1159      1010

Verbal

Year      Madison   Wisconsin US   
2002-03   606       585       507
2001-02   606       583       504
2000-01   603       584       506
1999-00   618       584       505
1998-99   609       584       505
1997-98   614       581       505
1996-97   616       579       505
1995-96   608       577       505
1994-95   600       574       504

Math

Year      Madison   Wisconsin US
2002-03   635       594       519
2001-02   636       599       516
2000-01   626       596       514
1999-00   639       597       514
1998-99   639       595       511
1997-98   640       594       512
1996-97   631       590       511
1995-96   621       586       508
1994-95   619       585       506

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Madison Metropolitan School District

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Last Modified: 2003-09-02
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