County SAT Scores Lag Behind State, Country

The school system saw higher scores in the SAT and AP exams for 2012, but Baltimore County is still trailing behind the national and state SAT average. 

Early data showed a 17-point gain in the combined countywide mean SAT score, from 1,459 points in 2011 to 1,476 points in 2012 on a 2,400-point scale, according to a Baltimore County Public Schools news release. However, participation on the test dipped from 60.1 percent to 57.5 percent of all students.

By comparison, the state had a mean of 1,487 points and the country 1,498 points, the release reads. Despite the higher means, the state fell five points from 2011 and the country 2 points.

On the AP exams, the percentage of diploma-bound seniors scoring 3 points or higher on the 5 point tests increased from 64.4 percent in 2011 to 67.4 percent in 2012, school system officials said. The percentage of students taking the tests also rose from 36.6 percent to 37.8 percent.

The state saw a 5.4 percent increase in the number of AP exams taken from 2011 to 2012, according to a Maryland State Department of Education news release. Although 116,614 tests were taken in 2012, the percentage of those receiving scores of 3 to 5 increased nearly 10 percent.

Maryland has ranked first in the country for success on the AP exams for the past four years, the state's release reads. The College Board will release the 2012 standings in early 2013.