The latest round of SAT scores places Idaho above the national averages across the board, and the State Board of Education is encouraged.
“Overall, this is a positive for Idaho and the work being done in our schools,” State Board executive director Matt Freeman said in a news release. “As we review the data, it shows that we have more work to do, particularly in math, but we are trending in the right direction.”
Here’s the breakdown:
| Idaho average | National average | |
| Evidence-based reading and writing | 509 | 498 |
| Math | 490 | 486 |
| Total | 999 | 984 |
Idaho also topped national averages on college- and career-readiness, as defined by the developers of the SAT. A 480 score on the verbal portion of the test, or a 530 on the math portion of the test, is considered a benchmark of college readiness — meaning a student is likely to get at least a C average in college.
The breakdown on benchmarks:
| Idaho | National | |
| Evidence-based reading and writing | 62 percent | 56 percent |
| Math | 35 percent | 34 percent |
| Both benchmarks | 33 percent | 32 percent |
The State Board compared scores on Idaho and national “SAT Days,” when students are encouraged to take the college-placement exam during the regular school day. Each April, the state covers expenses for Idaho 11th graders to take the SAT, and this year, more than 17,000 students took the state up on the offer.
The State Board’s average scores are slightly lower than the numbers released June 14 by the State Department of Education. That’s because the State Board numbers include scores for students who took a makeup test after April 12, State Board spokesman Blake Youde said Monday.
Click here to read more about the SAT Day scores, and click here to download charts that show how your school and district fared.
