Calif. Students Above Average in Math Scores, Below in Verbal

California’s college-bound students scored seven points higher this year on the Scholastic Aptitude Test, the best gain in two decades, state officials said today.

The typical California student scored 480 on the mathematics portion of the test--five points higher than the national average, and 424 on the verbal test, seven points below the national average.

However, state Supt. of Public Instruction Bill Honig said he was only “guardedly optimistic” about the results.

“We fell a long way, and we’ve recovered only a bit,” he said.

Honig said he was pleased that more students, and particularly minorities, took the test in the past year and scored higher than in previous years.

“This reinforces our belief that everybody can do it and that there is value in setting goals and raising standards,” Honig said.

The state education reform law enacted in 1983 increased the high school graduation requirements in California and allowed many schools to restore a sixth period of instruction. As a result, Honig said, the typical senior in 1985 would likely have taken more academic courses during the junior or senior years of high school.