County SAT Scores Outpace State, Nation

Ventura County students posted their highest-ever scores on the SAT and continued to outperform their peers state- and nationwide, a trend bolstered by an especially strong showing from a handful of west county high schools.

While college-bound students in the Conejo Valley continued to record the highest average scores locally on the college-entrance exam, schools such as Ventura High and Fillmore High made significant gains on the achievement test, administered last school year.

In fact, Ventura High was the most improved of all the county’s schools, registering a 27-point increase on the verbal portion of the exam and a 50-point jump in math.

Cross-town rival Buena High also boosted its test scores, increasing five points on the verbal portion and three points in math.

“Sometimes you just get a group of kids who come through and perform exceptionally well,” said Patricia Chandler, assistant superintendent of educational services for the Ventura district. “This particular class at Ventura High was exceptionally good.”

The Scholastic Assessment Test is given each year to college-bound high school students, and is used by universities as an entrance requirement and a predictor of academic success.

Overall, Ventura County students averaged 1,056 on the exam out of a possible 1,600 points--46 points better than the state average and 40 points better than the national norm.

Moreover, educators say that county students are boosting their test scores at a faster rate than the state or the nation as a whole.

Students in county high schools have gained an average of 16 points on the SAT over the past five years, compared to an 11-point gain statewide and a 13-point increase at the national level during the same period.

“I think educators in Ventura County should be very proud of the work they are doing,” county schools Supt. Charles Weis said. “And it’s being done at all levels. The elementary schools, middle schools and high schools are all working hard to improve instruction to college-bound students.”

Educators say that definitely is the case at Thousand Oaks High, which recorded the highest average SAT scores in the county for the third year in a row.

The combined score of 1,123 was an all-time high for the school, where 266 juniors and seniors took the exam last school year.

“This didn’t just happen in a year. These kids have been preparing since kindergarten,” Assistant Principal Anne Hetu said. “You just can’t look at this as a high school coup. We certainly owe a lot to the elementary and intermediate schools.”

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Elsewhere in the Conejo Valley district, Westlake High scored five points higher on the verbal portion of the test and one point worse in math. And at Newbury Park High, scores were down slightly contrasted with the previous year.

In the nearby Oak Park Unified School District, Principal Millie Andress said she doesn’t worry much about such minor fluctuations in the one-day test.

Oak Park High saw an eight-point dip in the verbal section, but a 21-point increase in math.

“We’re a pretty high-achieving school,” Andress said. “SAT scores are going to vacillate like that every year. Of course we always try to go up two or three points every year. But it’s not like heads will roll if we don’t.”

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Just down the road in Moorpark, high school students also did well. Students scored 11 points higher in their verbal skills and seven points higher in their math skills than last school year.

“We’re very pleased to see this growth,” said Frank De Pasquale, assistant superintendent for the Moorpark district. “We have an excellent faculty and administration over there.”

Many educators said the creation of a four-year public university in Ventura County would go a long way toward increasing the number of students taking the SAT.

At the five high schools in he Oxnard Union High School district, 590 students took the exam last year, contrasted with 643 the year before. The district saw its average scores drop by a few points this year.

“Because we don’t have a four-year college or university in this county, we probably don’t have as many SAT test-takers,” said Gary Davis, the district’s assistant superintendent for educational services. “When we do have a four-year college, I think we’re going to see an increased interest in the SAT.”

There was even good news for those high schools on the lower end of the scoring scale.

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At Fillmore High, for instance, SAT scores rose by 16 points on the verbal portion of the test and 22 points in math. The scores in each portion are slightly below the state average, said Jane Kampbell, assistant superintendent of educational services for the Fillmore district.

But Kampbell said when the demographics of the district are considered--including the high number of students to whom English is a second language--the students are performing well.

“We decided we were just going to demand more from our kids, to have higher expectations,” Kampbell said. “And I think we’re seeing that pay off.”

* STATEWIDE RESULTS

Math scores are up but verbal remains the same. A3

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Ventura County SAT Scores

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Districts 1995-96 1996-1997 and schools Verbal Math Verbal Math Conejo Valley Unified Thousand Oaks High 541 562 553 570 Newbury Park High 527 549 520 543 Westlake High 533 562 538 561 Fillmore Unified Fillmore High 439 452 455 474 Moorpark Unified Moorpark High 516 522 527 529 Oak Park Unified Oak Park High 531 530 523 551 Ojai Unified Nordhoff High 521 551 525 533 Oxnard Union High Camarillo High 539 551 539 545 Channel Islands High 470 483 454 486 Hueneme High 477 471 493 485 Oxnard High 504 517 493 481 Rio Mesa High 507 515 503 511 Santa Paula Union High Santa Paula High 430 420 434 435 Simi Valley Unified Royal High 505 528 512 532 Simi Valley High 521 544 519 540 Ventura Unified Buena High 537 539 542 542 Ventura High 514 502 541 552 Ventura County average 517 532 521 535 State average 495 511 496 514 National average 505 508 505 511

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NOTE: Possible maximum score for verbal and math sections combined is 1600.

Source: Ventura County school districts