Students Fare OK with SAT and ACT Scores

OCALA -- Fewer than a third of all Marion County high school students take the Scholastic Assessment Test or American College Testing Program test, but those who do perform fairly well.

The 579 Marion students who took the SAT last year got an average combined score of 1,012 out of a possible 1,600 -- slightly below the national average but higher than the state average.

Similarly, the 539 students taking the ACT on average received a composite score of 20.8 out of 36, which matches the state average.

When SchoolMatch compared Marion County SAT and ACT scores to similar schools as part of its audit of educational effectiveness, the scores exceeded the effectiveness levels of 986 and 20.4, respectively.

"If you're a high school student ... you can get a fine college preparatory education in Marion County," SchoolMatch President William Bainbridge said. "There's no reason to be sending these kids to private schools for that."

However, only 30.4 percent of eligible students took the SAT, and only 28.3 percent took the ACT.

That's because, unlike the mandatory Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test and the High School Comprehensive Assessment Test aimed at measuring competency, the SAT and ACT are for college-bound students. Because many graduates of Marion high schools are looking to attend technical schools or jump right into the work force, they don't bother with them.

Those who know they're headed to college are told to start preparing for the SAT almost as soon as they walk in the door as freshmen.

"All of those who are preparing to go to college, we try to have them start (taking the test) in the second half of their 11th-grade year so we can get a good baseline score," said Liz Thompson, director of guidance at Belleview High. "In their senior year, we'll have them take either the SAT or ACT again, whichever they did well on. Some people do well on one and not so well on the other."

Her school has a math course aimed at preparing students for the tests and used to have a minimester course on boosting your SAT score. Most high schools also encourage college-bound students to take SAT and ACT preparation courses offered by private companies, and let them use school computers with prep software to drill themselves.

And even though only one-third of students take standardized tests, it doesn't necessarily mean others won't eventually go to college. Many, instead, choose to take the Computerized Placement Test (CPT) for entry into the state's community college system.

"A lot of our kids go to the two-year community college. They can stay home, (learn) what they can get, and then go on to a four-year school," said Thompson. "And sometimes they do even better because they've had more time to mature."

Thompson's three daughters all went this route, starting at Central Florida Community College and moving on to the University of Florida. They're now well on their way to careers as a nurse, lawyer and public relations worker.

Some of the county's college-bound seniors opt to attend the district's International Baccalaureate program at Vanguard High. This renowned program imposes a highly intensive curriculum on its participants, requiring four years each of English, history, science, math and a foreign language. They also have to write a special term paper, take a specialized class, pass IB tests, and perform 150 hours of community service.

But the payoff of receiving an IB diploma is worth it, students say. They can receive up to 30 semester hours of college credit. And if they attend a Florida university, their tuition is cut -- or even free.

"At the beginning, I thought it was going to be entirely too hard. You hear these rumors: 'It can't be done, you'll have no social life,'" said Rob Davis, a junior in the IB program. "But if you prioritize your time, if you learn to set small goals and follow through with them ... you will ultimately accomplish that major goal."

Virtually all IB students take the SAT and/or the ACT. Some, such as Davis, take it several times, hoping to tweak out the highest score possible. Davis is planning to parlay his IB diploma into majoring in psychiatry or psychology at the University of Florida.

The IB program has bloomed from 50 students when it was started three years ago up to 257. Another 100 students are expected to be added next year. Coordinator Dr. Lynn Herrick contests the notion that the program acts as a "brain drain" on other high schools. Forest High actually had the highest SAT scores in the county this past year.

"This program is not suited for everyone. I had a student accepted into IB, but he checked out the engineering academy at Forest and felt that suited him better," Herrick said. Similarly, other students choose to attend Belleview High because of their performing arts academy. "It puts you in a position of making a lot of choices. But we don't steal everybody's smart kids."