Aptitude Test Scores Drop for Women and Minorities

After almost a decade of steady gains, average Scholastic Aptitude Test scores among women and several minority groups slipped last year, the College Board said today.

Overall, scores among the 1,088,223 high school students who took the SAT in 1989 showed little change for the fourth consecutive year. Average verbal scores dropped a point to 427 compared to scores in 1988; math scores were unchanged at 476.

Average composite scores on the ACT Assessment, the college entrance test that predominates in 28 states mostly in the Midwest and West, dipped 0.2 point in 1989 to 18.6. Averages on the four-part exam, assessing English, math, social studies and natural science skills, are scored on a scale of 1 to 35.

Critics for years have accused both tests, especially the SAT, of being biased against women and minorities, and the latest averages again displayed a wide race and gender gap.

White students gained two points on their combined SAT scores to 937--averaging 200 points higher than blacks, whose math-verbal scores were unchanged from the previous year at 737.

Women’s combined scores dipped two points to 875; male test-takers averaged 934, one point higher than a year earlier.

American Indians suffered the biggest drop among ethnic groups, averaging a combined 812, down nine points on the verbal section and seven on the math.

The best gain was registered by Puerto Rican students.