State graduating class outscores national average on SAT for third consecutive year

ATLANTA — Georgia public-school students outperformed their peers around the country on the SAT for the third year in a row, the state Department of Education reported.

The Georgia high school class of 2020 recorded a mean score of 1,043 on the standardized test, 13 points higher than the mean nationwide score for public schools.

The Georgia students scored 12 points higher in Evidence-Based Reading and Writing and one point higher in Math.

“The class of 2020 has faced unprecedented adversity and uncertainty during the COVID-19 pandemic,” State School Superintendent Richard Woods said. “Given all they have overcome, I am so proud of these students for becoming the third graduating class in Georgia history to beat the national average on the SAT.”

Members of the class of 2020 were forced to abandon their classrooms in mid-March when the coronavirus pandemic took hold in Georgia. The students ended up completing their final high school semester online.

On the downside, the state’s public-school students did experience a slight decrease in the SAT compared to 2019. The mean score of 1,043 for 2020 was down five points from last year’s 1,048.

However, the nationwide decrease in 2020 was nine points at 1,030, compared to 1,039 in 2019.

Public school minority students in Georgia posted strong gains on the SAT this year.

Black students recorded a mean composite score of 946, well above the national mean of 914. Georgia’s Latino students recorded a mean composite score of 1,010, compared to the national mean of 958.