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Class of '09 scores lower on SAT reading, writing

SAT reading and writing scores have dropped a notch for the Class of '09, extending sharp declines recorded in recent years.

Nationwide, the mean reading score for college-bound students released Tuesday by the Manhattan-based College Board dipped to 501, down a point from last year and seven points from 2005. Scores are on a scale of 200 to 800.

Writing scores - regarded by test sponsors as the most accurate measure of students' readiness for college - also slipped a point from last year, to 493. Those scores are down four points from 2006, the first year they were recorded.

SAT math scores remained steady from last year nationwide, at 515, but are down five points from 2005.

New York State's scores dropped three points in reading to 485, two points in math to 502, and three points in writing to 478.

Test critics seized on results as evidence that intensified testing under the federal "No Child Left Behind" law has failed to boost scholastic achievement.

"It is becoming increasingly clear that the nation cannot test its way to better educational quality or equity," said Bob Schaeffer, public education director of FairTest, a Massachusetts-based advocacy group.

As evidence, FairTest pointed to reading scores, which jumped nine points for students whose families earned more than $200,000, but remained stagnant for those whose families earned $60,000 or less.

SAT sponsors downplayed declining scores in reading and writing, saying a more significant trend was in math. Scores there rose from 492 in 1980 to 520 in 2005, before settling at 515.

Also significant, sponsors say, is a steady rise in Asians, blacks and Hispanics taking the SAT. Forty percent of test takers were minorities in the Class of '09, compared to an estimated 29.2 percent a decade ago, though a much larger proportion of students did not list their race in the earlier year.

"In 2008 and 2009, the scores have been remarkably stable, and that, while the Class of 2009 has expanded and become more diverse," said Laurence Bunin, the College Board's senior vice president of operations.

On Long Island, where the SAT is the predominant college entrance exam, preparation for the test has become a big business. In response, growing numbers of school districts help provide commercial test-prep courses to students at a discount.

Liz Wands Ringel, executive director on the Island for the Princeton Review test-prep company, says her firm began a cooperative venture with one Island school district eight years ago, and has now expanded to about 15 districts. Now, a 30-hour SAT prep course costing $1,099 is offered by Princeton Review in several districts for $799.

"I talk to parents all day long, and one of their biggest concerns is the cost of test prep," Ringel said.