Redesigned SAT: Gwinnett Results Continue To Top State, National Averages

Gwinnett County Public Schools released SAT scores for the Class of 2017, this is the first class of students to take the revised SAT assessment. The College Board made content, format, and scoring changes to the SAT in 2016. The redesigned SAT test prioritizes content that reflects the kind of reading and math students will encounter in college and their future work lives. It focuses on Evidence-Based Reading and Writing and Mathematics. Students also may take an optional essay test but it is scored separately. This newest version of the SAT was first administered in the spring of 2016. This is the first class of students to take the revised SAT so the scores from previous years are not directly comparable.
Although a number of last year’s seniors took the previous version of the SAT, the results released by the state and found below reflect the new version only. On this newest version of the SAT, Gwinnett test-takers topped state and national averages on both sections (Evidenced-Based Reading and Writing and Math) of the test. Gwinnett’s average score of 1084 was 24 points higher than the national average and 34 points higher than the state’s score of 1050.

Gwinnett SAT Highlights

• Gwinnett’s average composite score on the SAT is 1084, a combination of the average Evidenced-Based Reading and Writing score of 545 and the average Mathematics score of 539. (Possible scores range from 200 to 800 on each section. The highest possible composite score is 1600.)
• Gwinnett’s total SAT average is 24 points above the national average of 1060.
• Gwinnett’s average is 34 points above the Georgia average of 1050.
• In Gwinnett, 51 percent of students met both the ERW and Math College and Career Readiness Benchmarks, 77 percent met the ERW Benchmark, and 53 percent met the Math Benchmark. In comparison, 41 percent of Georgia students met both, with 72 percent meeting the ERW Benchmark and 43 percent meeting the Math Benchmark. Students are considered college- and career-ready when their SAT section scores meet both the Math and the ERW Benchmarks. It is important to note that college readiness is a continuum-students scoring below the SAT Benchmarks can still be successful in college, especially with additional preparation and perseverance.

Individual school results and system results are found below. Individual school averages can be greatly affected by the unique characteristics of each year’s test takers. Students can improve their SAT scores by doing well in rigorous courses, reading challenging books and articles, and writing concise essays that include compelling details to support a persuasive argument.