College-Bound Seniors 2011

Sept. 2011

Southern News

More students in Southern Region states participated in the college-going process by taking the SAT® than ever before. Overall student participation grew in nine of the 10 states in the region.

Florida led the region in SAT participation growth, with the number of SAT takers up 7 percent in 2011 compared to 2010. Florida has seen a steady increase in the number of SAT takers since 2007, and experienced a significant bump this year because of the School District of Palm Beach County’s funding of an SAT School-Day initiative for all public school students in the class of 2011. This effort — which took place in April 2010 — brought many more students into the testing process.

Florida’s 2011 SAT takers also reflected the diversity of the state: 51 percent of the SAT takers in this year’s high school graduating class were minority students, up from 44 percent in 2007. Florida wasn’t the only state in the region to reflect the College Board’s commitment to expanding access and equity. Graduating high school seniors in the states of Alabama, South Carolina and Virginia represent the most diverse groups of SAT takers in history.

In addition to Virginia’s graduating seniors representing the most diverse group in state history, overall SAT participation also broke previous state records, with 71 percent of the Virginia class of 2011 participating in the college-going process by taking the SAT. And in the state of North Carolina, 67 percent of the class of 2011 took the SAT, representing a 10 percent increase in the number of overall test-takers since 2007.

Data confirm that completing a core curriculum, enrolling in honors and AP® courses, and taking SAT Subject Tests™ in science and mathematics subjects not only enhance student performance on the SAT but also serve as valid predictors of college success. Students in the high school graduating class of 2011 who reported completing a core curriculum received a combined SAT score that was, on average, 143 points higher than those who did not complete a core curriculum.