NHS SAT Scores Above

National And State Average

By Tanjua Damon

Newtown High School students are still making the grade when it comes to SAT scores. This year’s scores leveled off from last year’s increase, but more students are taking the standardized tests.

Almost 300 graduating seniors took the test from Newtown High School, providing averages above the state and national average. This year the verbal score was 538, up one point from last year, and the math score was 539, the same as last year.

Administrators did not expect students to have a second year with a 14-point increase in verbal and four points in math like they saw in 1999-2000, but they are happy to see that students are continuing to achieve well on the SAT test.

“We did just as well as last year. You come to a point when you’re going to level off,” Assistant Principal Lorrie Arsenian said. “We did well. We’re very happy with these scores.”

The national average for the verbal portion of the test was 506 and in math 514, while the state average for verbal was 509 and 510 in math.

“That’s significant. We’re doing the right things,” Mrs Arsenian said. “We can always find ways to improve. It has to be natural, what things we believe are the good things on the test. That’s how we help students prepare for this.”

The high school offers an SAT prep program for students after school, where students go over vocabulary and problem-solving skills as well as work on sample tests so that they can experience how and what kinds of questions can be asked when they take the SAT. School curriculum also addresses important aspects of content that can be useful when taking the standardized test.

“We’ve set up certainly through English class that vocabulary is very important,” Mrs Arsenian said. “These are things we try to do as natural part of the curriculum as well. Our work and our efforts pay off.”