Barresi: SAT Scores Improve, Work Needed

Superintendent Janet Barresi

While more Oklahoma public school students took the SAT test during the 2010-11 school year than the previous school year, math scores declined and writing scores showed no improvement, but State Superintendent of Public Instruction Janet Barresi said she’s pleased the state’s critical reading scores are up 2 percent over 2009-10 school year and that more students are taking the test which measures college readiness.

There’s just more work to be done, she said.

“These scores just prove that our students need to be taking four years of math in high school,” Barresi said. "Though we are doing slightly better than the national mean scores, that is small consolation considering national scores have declined."

Currently in Oklahoma only three years of math are required in high school. As for writing, Barresi said she’s convinced that as school districts in the state transition to the tougher writing standards required as part of the Common Core State Standards, these scores will improve.

Kerri White, assistant state superintendent of student support, said Common Core standards require students to write using a given text to support their arguments rather than just responding to a simple writing prompt. This will increase skill, she said.

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