Most O.C. Seniors Again Outscore Peers on SATs : Education: 1995 students mirror national trend by gaining in both math and verbal sections of the standardized test that is key to college admission.

Most of Orange County’s class of 1995 outperformed its peers across the state and nation on the revised Scholastic Aptitude Test, according to results released today, and mirrored a U.S. trend by posting modest gains on both math and verbal sections of the exam.

Although data was not available for three of the county’s 15 high school districts, the results showed that students continued their relatively high achievement on the standardized tests, which are a major part of the criteria used in the admissions process by most colleges and universities.

“We have seen a constant improving or staying even for years, despite the fact that 50% of our seniors are now taking the exam,” said John F. Dean, superintendent of the Orange County Department of Education. “This is spectacular. That’s proof the schools are doing their job.”

Nationally, SAT scores rose by the largest margin in more than a decade. Verbal scores increased by five points over 1994 to an average of 428, and students bettered their performance on the math test by three points, with an average of 482. The test is scored on a scale of 200 to 800.

In California, with 45% of graduating seniors taking the exam, the scores tracked similarly: verbal scores increased 4 points over last year, to 417, and math scores increased 3 points to 485.

There is no overall score for Orange County, but according to the available information, the largest gain in math was posted by Laguna Beach Unified, which has just one high school. In Laguna Beach, 1995 math scores jumped 26 points from last year, to 530.

“We are thrilled,” said Principal Barbara Callard of Laguna Beach High. “We’ve been trying to give math and science their equal due. It shows what you can do when you launch a concentrated effort.”

The highest overall math score of 577 belonged to the Irvine Unified School District, which also boasted the highest math results in 1994.

Garden Grove Unified students registered the biggest jump in verbal scores over last year--a 13-point gain, to 398. But that figure still left the district, where 40% of the students do not speak English as a first language, 19 points below the state average.

Officials were pleased by the progress, but said that reaching state averages will remain difficult because of language barriers.

“We are trying to use as many instructional strategies as we can in working with these kids to help them learn the language,” said Garden Grove Unified spokesman Al Sims. “It’s a real challenge for our teachers.”

For the second consecutive year, Laguna Beach logged the highest verbal score, 471, the same result its students posted in 1994.

The biggest decline in math test scores came at Anaheim Union High School District, a 14-point drop to 495. “These scores are very frustrating for us,” said Anaheim Union Supt. Cynthia Grennan.

Surprisingly, the biggest slide in verbal scores was at traditionally high-achieving Irvine Unified, where the results sank by 12 points to 458. But school officials were quick to point out the district’s top position among county high schools in combined SAT scores.

“It’s a cause for concern, but we are still a great district, “ said Irvine Unified Trustee Hank Adler. “We’ll talk about it, but it’s hard to judge this by a snapshot. Nothing in education works by a snapshot.”

As it did in 1994, Santa Ana Unified posted the lowest overall math and verbal scores, 416 and 333 respectively, results showed. District officials declined to release the information, saying they interpreted a news embargo to mean the information should not be given to the media until Thursday morning. But The Times obtained the figures independently.

Only one other district, Orange Unified, interpreted the College Board’s embargo the same way, and refused to release the information. Two others, Brea Olinda Unified and Newport-Mesa Unified, said they had not received the information Wednesday.

Other notable performances came from students in the Capistrano Unified School District, who improved their combined math and verbal scores by 27 points over last year, and Los Alamitos Unified, where the combined score rose 23 points.

In the Capistrano district, SAT scores have risen 40 points over the past four years, officials said Wednesday. Also, Aliso Niguel High School, one of four high schools in that district, registered the county’s top combined scored of 1,150--480 in verbal and 670 in math.

“It reflects the rigorous academic program and high expectations in place at our elementary, middle and high schools and shows our community that it can be quite proud of its public schools,” said Supt. James A. Fleming.

More than 128,000 high school seniors statewide took the 2 1/2-hour test, which is designed to predict how students will perform in college.

This year’s results reflect the use of a slightly modified version of the test, which has been undergoing some revisions since 1987. The new test focuses more on problem solving in mathematics and on reading for meaning and understanding. Officials do not believe the new test affected scores to any noticeable degree.

The SAT’s verbal portion measures reading comprehension and vocabulary skills, while the math section tests knowledge of arithmetic, algebra and geometry.

Times correspondent Jeff Kass contributed to this report.

* REPORT CARD: How O.C. districts and individual schools fared on SAT. A24

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SAT Scoreboard

Orange County seniors generally outperformed their peers from California and nationwide in the Scholastic Aptitude Test. The comparisons:

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1995 1994 Change Verbal Math Verbal Math Verbal Math Anaheim Union 397 495 401 509 -4 -14 Anaheim 339 412 371 477 -32 -65 Cypress 429 527 420 521 9 6 Katella 401 527 401 515 -- 12 Kennedy 408 509 403 527 5 -18 Loara 430 538 420 524 10 14 Magnolia 362 458 364 489 -2 -31 Savanna 391 489 404 485 -13 4 Western 369 442 395 494 -26 -52 Capistrano Unified 460 539 449 523 11 16 Aliso Niguel 480 670 * * * * Capistrano Valley 450 539 448 533 2 6 Dana Hills 466 539 454 522 12 17 San Clemente 460 536 441 513 19 23 Fullerton Joint Union 433 524 436 520 -3 4 Buena Park 365 441 381 473 -16 -32 Fullerton 422 482 428 481 -6 1 La Habra 420 479 412 486 8 -7 Sonora 410 480 439 486 -29 -6 Sunny Hills 462 584 456 564 6 20 Troy 454 550 457 539 -3 11 Garden Grove Unified 398 498 385 501 13 -3 Bolsa Grande 385 521 366 487 19 34 Garden Grove 410 498 385 483 25 15 La Quinta 422 523 397 520 25 3 Los Amigos 362 477 372 511 -10 -34 Pacifica 433 507 431 520 2 -13 Rancho 394 488 364 506 30 -18 Santiago 353 463 355 468 -2 -5 Huntington Beach Union 445 537 444 541 1 -4 Huntington Beach 442 521 444 517 -2 4 Westminster 410 501 396 491 14 10 Marina 456 548 456 551 -- -3 Fountain Valley 457 548 453 566 4 -18 Edison 450 552 458 562 -8 -10 Ocean View 432 524 429 521 3 3 Irvine Unified 458 577 470 578 -12 -1 Irvine 444 565 448 555 -4 10 University 486 606 502 607 -16 -1 Woodbridge 444 559 449 566 -5 -7 Laguna Beach Unified 471 530 471 504 -- 26 Laguna Beach 471 530 471 504 -- 26 Los Alamitos Unified 458 552 455 532 3 20 Los Alamitos 458 552 455 532 3 20 Placentia-Yorba Linda 435 528 436 533 -1 -5 El Dorado 429 524 436 538 -7 -14 Esperanza 435 528 449 542 -14 -14 Valencia 446 533 410 509 36 24 Saddleback Valley Unified 459 544 451 532 8 12 El Toro 464 543 461 541 3 2 Laguna Hills 473 565 451 540 22 25 Mission Viejo 454 540 453 531 1 9 Trabuco 445 526 435 512 10 14 Santa Ana Unified 333 416 335 428 -2 -12 Century 330 385 311 367 19 18 Saddleback 350 429 371 369 -21 60 Santa Ana 312 410 304 403 8 7 Valley 321 428 325 448 -4 -20 Tustin Unified 446 524 449 530 -3 -6 Tustin 419 484 422 490 -3 -6 Foothill 465 553 473 566 -8 -13 California 417 485 413 482 4 3 National 428 482 423 479 5 3

% Seniors taking test, 1995 Anaheim Union 26% Anaheim Cypress Katella Kennedy Loara Magnolia Savanna Western Capistrano Unified 50% Aliso Niguel Capistrano Valley Dana Hills San Clemente Fullerton Joint Union 55% Buena Park Fullerton La Habra Sonora Sunny Hills Troy Garden Grove Unified 23% Bolsa Grande Garden Grove La Quinta Los Amigos Pacifica Rancho Santiago Huntington Beach Union 49% Huntington Beach Westminster Marina Fountain Valley Edison Ocean View Irvine Unified n/a Irvine University Woodbridge Laguna Beach Unified 59% Laguna Beach Los Alamitos Unified 63% Los Alamitos Placentia-Yorba Linda 52% El Dorado Esperanza Valencia Saddleback Valley Unified 54% El Toro Laguna Hills Mission Viejo Trabuco Santa Ana Unified n/a Century Saddleback Santa Ana Valley Tustin Unified 55% Tustin Foothill California 45% National 41%

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* 1995 was Aliso Niguel’s first senior class

Note: Officials at Brea-Olinda Unified and Newport-Mesa Unified school districts had not received scores. Officials at Orange Unified and Santa Ana Unified school districts declined to release figures. The Times obtained Santa Ana results independently.

Sources: Individual school districts

Researched by MARTIN MILLER / Los Angeles Times