Average 2013 SAT scores in a majority of Harford County public high schools exceeded the College Board’s College and Career Readiness Benchmarks in math and critical reading. However, average scores in all schools failed to meet higher targets set for automatic entry to credit- bearing math and English courses at Harford Community College.
The SAT, which is developed by the non-profit College Board, has been administered for decades to high school students nationwide in math, critical reading and more recently, in writing. Scores in each of the three tested areas are calculated on a 200-800 point scale, for a maximum combined score of 2400. Average combined scores in HCPS were 1515 overall for 2013, beating the national and state averages of 1498 and 1483, respectively.
The College Board College and Career Readiness Benchmarks
Last year for the first time, the College Board also established benchmark scores at 500 points for proficiency in each of the tested areas, and a slightly higher college readiness benchmark of 1550 combined, indicating a 65% likelihood of achieving at least a B-minus average (2.67 GPA) during the first year of college. According to research conducted by The College Board:
“The results showed that students meeting the benchmark are more likely to enroll in college; return for their second and third years of college; earn higher grades in both high school and college; and are more likely to have taken a core curriculum as well as more rigorous courses in high school than those not meeting the benchmark.”
Among the ten Harford County public high schools, only Patterson Mill met the College Board’s proficiency benchmark of 500 points in all three tested areas in 2013. All schools except Edgewood, Harford Technical School and Joppatowne met the 500 point benchmark in math and critical reading. Bel Air, C. Milton Wright, North Harford and Patterson Mill also met the 1550 point combined college readiness benchmark.
The College Board cautions that its benchmarks were created for use by secondary school educators, administrators and policymakers evaluating the likelihood of college success for groups of students. They are not intended to determine college readiness for individual students or academic readiness for a specific college. A complete guide to the SAT College and Career Readiness Benchmarks can be found here.
Community College
Community colleges generally offer open enrollment. However, most require degree-seeking students to take a placement exam to determine whether they must take remedial coursework before enrolling in credit-bearing courses in math and English.
According to the College Board, only 43% of SAT test-takers nationwide in the class of 2013 graduated from high school ready for college-level work.
Many community colleges exempt students from taking a placement exam if they have scored 550 or higher on the SAT subtests in math and critical reading, which is 50 points higher than the College Board’s benchmark. More information about this placement process at Harford Community College
can be found here.
Average scores in all Harford County public high schools were below Harford Community College’s 550 point cut scores in both math and critical reading in 2013.
Below is a table showing the average 2013 SAT scores for each of the ten Harford County public high schools, provided by Harford County Public Schools. The table is followed by a list of the combined average SAT scores for selected school systems around the state, compiled from official reports by The Dagger.
2013 Average Combined SAT Scores for Selected Maryland Public School Systems
All I see are the overall percentages of graduates from each graduating class taking the SAT. Where are the actual SAT scores for each school that the article mentions?
I believe that the numbers that are highlighted in yellow are the scores, although they are not labelled.
That’s correct, the scores are in boldface and highlighted in yellow.
What’s going on at Joppatowne? Their participation rate and scores are consistently well below the Harford County averages.
@ Pavel314,
This is because Joppatowne High is a route 40 corridor school. Many of the parents that have students in that school simply do not care. I am very thankful that my daughter was accepted to Harford Tech as a freshman this year so I do not have to send her to Joppatowne High. After the horrible experience she had at Magnolia Middle School these past three years, I was afraid Joppatowne High would only be a continuation.
It seems that many of the teachers at Magnolia Middle School just do not care. The atmosphere is so different at Harford Tech. It seems that the teachers actually care about the students there. Although I’m sure that at Magnolia Middle School, a lot of the issue is that the the parents and students don’t care enough either.
I teach at MMS and the teachers do care. But the administration is the issue. The principal does NOT have the support of the faculty (she may think she does). This school sadly polices more than it teaches. Sad, but true.
The attendence area for JHS (and MMS) includes a big chunk of the houses near Hanson Road and Woodbridge Center Way in Edgewood, in addition to the apartments at Joppa Farm Road and Rt 40.
My 3 kids went to Magnolia Middle School and got a wonderful education. The teachers were always receptive and I even worked there on occasion in the offfice. Sometimes people make judgments without really knowing the whole picture.
My take away from this is that the average (C) Harford County high school student is unprepared to go to college. That’s horrendous. Not everyone needs to go to college, or should be capable of college work upon graduation even, but the *average* student graduating from high school absolutely should be able to step right into first year college coursework.
At these levels of standard I’d be demanding A’s from my child to have any peace of mind that they are learning anything at all.
“Every student graduates, goes to college.”
My son attended a “Route 40” school and took the SAT’s. He did not receive a 550 in either math, writing or reading. Later, he took the placement tests at HCC and placed into college level courses. Sometimes, it is the test and not the school.
You should have seen my SAT scores, see all my acronyms of achievement? Yeah, I’m well educated. I make lots of money, too.
Schools on the Route 40 corridor?? While I do agree of the fact that some parents just don’t care, that is a nationwide issue, not just a Route 40 corridor issue. I think you could find parents in Fallston, MD or Denver, Colorado, that don’t care just as well.
What about the teachers responsibility in the scores, grades, etc. You have to hold them somewhat responsible as well.