6th year of declining SAT scores

For the sixth straight year, the Newport-Mesa Unified School District saw its SAT scores decline slightly as the number of test-takers increased and as the exam took on a new format.

But the district beat both the state and national averages, which dropped significantly this year as students took a new, longer version of the college entrance exam. The nationwide drop in scores was the steepest since 1975.

Newport-Mesa posted an average mark of 521 on the verbal part of the test, with 539 on mathematics and 525 on a new essay portion. All of those numbers were at least 18 points higher than the state and national averages, although the district’s verbal and math scores fell slightly from the year before.

Roughly half of Newport-Mesa’s senior class this year took the SAT, said assessment director Peggy Anatol. She said many students no longer saw the test as an essential hurtle for college admission.

“It used to be when you went to school, this was the only measure,” Anatol said. “It was like algebra used to be; when you took algebra, you were definitely on a college path. The measures have changed, I think, even though the SAT is still held in a very high regard.”

Corona del Mar High School and Newport Harbor High School outperformed the state and nation, while Estancia High School and Costa Mesa High School lagged slightly behind.

School district Supt. Jeffrey Hubbard said a possible factor for Newport-Mesa’s drop this year was the cost of the test, which has risen with the new format. Many students now only took the SAT once, he said, as opposed to past years when they took it several times.

“The trend is down everywhere, so for us to remain high in spite of that downward trend is a good sign,” Hubbard said.