The 2019 Scholastic Aptitude Tests (SAT) show Venango County’s four school districts with relatively closely-aligned scores, while scores from Clarion County’s seven school districts show more disparity but within close proximity to each other.
The SAT, one of the test scores considered in college applications, produces three scores: mathematics, evidence-based reading and writing (ERW) and a composite score of mathematics/ERW.
The highest composite score attainable was 1600, and the national average composite score was 1068.
However, in Clarion County, Allegheny-Clarion Valley (1101.8), North Clarion (1074.4) and Redbank Valley (1068.1) matched or surpassed that national average score, and Clarion-Limestone came up one point short.
The achievements by A-C Valley and North Clarion are despite the fact that the districts rank sixth and fifth, respectively, among the seven school district’s in enrollment. A-C Valley’s enrollment is 612, and North Clarion’s is 628.
A-C Valley Superintendent David McDeavitt said he thought “our SAT scores are the result of dedicated faculty and hard-working students.”
McDeavitt also said he believed “an aligned curriculum and specific, pedagogical and ongoing professional development of teachers” led to students’ achievements on the test.
The curriculum, McDeavitt said, is built so that “students can benefit from acquired knowledge that is built incrementally from grade-level to grade-level and is aligned to the state standards.”
North Clarion Superintendent Steven Young said, “I think in a nutshell that both our students and our parents value education.
“And we have teachers who do an excellent job of preparing our students for whatever they do – taking the SATs or going into the workforce.”
In Venango County, there was a 28-point difference between the lowest and highest composite scores in the districts.
In Clarion County, the difference between the lowest and highest composite scores was 81.8 points.
The highest achievable score in both the math and ERW tests is 800. The national averages are 531 in math and 536 in ERW.
Among the four Venango County school districts, the gaps between the highest and lowest individual-subject scores were 12.8 points in math and 18.7 in ERW.
In Clarion County, A-C Valley recorded identical top scores of 550.9 in both subjects. The gap between the highest and lowest scores among the county’s seven districts in the individual subjects were 53 points in math and 25.4 in ERW.
In Venango County, Franklin has the largest enrollment of students with 1,922, followed by Oil City with 1,906, Cranberry with 1,149 and Valley Grove with 787.
In Clarion County, Redbank Valley has the largest enrollment with 1,078, followed by Keystone with 915, Clarion-Limestone with 824, Clarion with 750, North Clarion with 628, Allegheny-Clarion Valley with 612 and Union with 586.
Forest County School District had a composite subject score of 935.3. Its enrollment is 426.
