Ventura Math Scores Drop 18 Points on SAT : Education: Verbal skills numbers show improvement. The district’s high schools remain above the state and national average.

The average math score on the Scholastic Aptitude Test plunged 18 points in the Ventura Unified High School District this year, but students still chalked up significantly better results than the state and national average.

And scores on the verbal portion of the standardized exam for college-bound seniors in the Ventura district improved 7 points over last year’s average, according to test results released Wednesday.

The pattern of lower math and higher verbal scores held true at both Ventura high schools. But Buena High School students topped their counterparts at Ventura by an average of 36 points on the combined math and verbal score.

At Buena High, math scores fell 16 points to an average of 508 out of a possible 800. At Ventura High, the math results dipped 2 points to 492. Both high schools notched a 3-point increase in their average verbal scores, to 460 at Buena and 440 at Ventura.

(The averages of individual schools do not add up to the districtwide average because differing numbers of students at each school took the test.)

The Ventura Unified scores were the only test results available in the west county on Wednesday. The Oxnard Union High School District, which includes six campuses in Oxnard and Camarillo, refused to release scores until its board reviews them Friday.

In the east county, both Conejo Valley and Simi Valley Unified districts released results Wednesday showing districtwide improvements, with significant fluctuations at individual high schools.

Despite the disparities among high schools within a district, educators emphasized that parents should not rate the quality of an institution by its average SAT score.

“This is really a superficial measure,” said Dennis Johnson, vice president of enrollment and student life at Cal Lutheran University in Thousand Oaks.

Instead of comparing raw test results, Johnson said, parents should look at how alumni of a given high school fare after graduation--how many land jobs right away, and how many go on to receive a college degree.

“This test is only one half-day in the life of a young person,” he said. “And so the scores may not be particularly indicative of how well that student is capable of performing.”

Ventura County school administrators backed him up, urging parents, students and principals to downplay the Scholastic Aptitude Test. Because of its rigid multiple-choice format, the test does not measure creative potential or challenge students to apply their knowledge to real-life situations.

“There is a place for standardized scores, but as we move into the 21st Century, the test is not as significant as it has been in the past,” said Diana Rigby, director of curriculum and instruction assessment for the county’s public school system.

The shifting emphasis is reflected in new approaches to teaching, which may not always prepare students for the rote knowledge and speedy problem-solving required for the SAT.

Instead of drilling students on economic jargon, for example, a teacher might ask them to start up a company. Instead of giving weekly vocabulary tests, the teacher might direct students to draft a play. Instead of demanding a historical timeline, a teacher might require an essay on changing perceptions of patriotism.

“Rather than tests, we’re looking at what information students have learned, what projects they have developed,” Rigby said. “We want them to build a high school portfolio so they can say, ‘This is what I’ve accomplished.’ ”

But despite the downplaying of SAT scores, administrators acknowledged that they do put stock in the annual test results.

“We always like to see a positive trend, and if it started slipping, we’d have to say ‘What’s going on here?’ ” said Becky Wetzel, director of programs and assessment for the Simi Valley Unified School District.

Over the past five years, scores have steadily climbed in both the math and verbal categories at Simi Valley High School. Royal High School scores have stayed the same in verbal but increased in math, Wetzel said.

The district “has good raw material in terms of the kids we have in our schools,” Assistant Supt. Simpson said.

In Ventura, where math scores dropped for the second straight year, Director of Administrative Services Arlene Miro said educators would re-evaluate their approaches. “We do have to look at what is happening here,” she said.

But finding a silver lining, Miro added, “We are still above the national average.”

Nationwide, the math average rose 2 points to 478, while verbal crept up 1 point to 424. In California, the state average slipped a point to 415, while math remained steady at 484.

Miro speculated that the decline in math scores might be linked to Ventura Unified’s “hectic year,” marred by gang violence and overcrowded classes with up to 40 students.

“We made the newspapers all the time last year, so there was a bit of a distraction,” she said. “I don’t know if that’s a part of it or not.”

SAT Scores in Ventura County

1991-92 1992-93 Math Verbal Math Verbal State 484 416 484 415 National 476 423 478 424

Simi Valley Unified

1991-92 1992-93 Math Verbal Math Verbal Simi Valley High School 501 425 520 434 Royal High School 509 418 493 425 DISTRICT 505 421 NA NA

Conejo Valley Unified

1991-92 1992-93 Math Verbal Math Verbal Newbury Park High School 521 445 520 440 Thousand Oaks High School 542 477 550 475 Westlake High School 528 456 530 454 DISTRICT 532 461 536 459

Ventura Unified

1991-92 1992-93 Math Verbal Math Verbal Ventura High School 494 437 492 440 Buena High School 524 457 508 460 DISTRICT 510 447 492 440

Scores from other school districts in Ventura County were not available.

NA: Not available

Sources: School districts; College Board.