SAT SCORES DROP A LITTLE SLIGHT DECREASE FOLLOWS RECORD LAST YEAR.

Byline: Bhavna Mistry  Staff Writer

SANTA CLARITA - Average SAT scores posted by local high school students fell slightly, but still surpassed state and national averages, according to results released Tuesday.

The William S. Hart Union High School District's 1999 results were the highest in 30 years, a tough act to follow in 2000.

``These are still high scores,'' said Gary Wexler, director of curriculum. ``It's a tribute to the staff, teachers and students and how they work under a crowded conditions.''

Of the 874 Hart district students who took the college entrance exam - an increase of 22 students over last year - the average score was 551 in math, down by three points over last year, and 526 in verbal portion, down by two points.

Hart students placed well above the state average of 518 in math and 497 in the verbal portion, and the national average of 514 math and 505 verbal, on the Scholastic Assessment Test.

``We're doing an awfully good job,'' Wexler said. ``We're providing the community and our students with the best education we can.''

In both categories, Saugus High School scored the highest with an average of 569 in math and 537 in verbal. Canyon High School was second at 552 and 535 in verbal, followed by Hart High with 551 in math and 522 verbal, and Valencia High with 536 in math and 519 in verbal.

``For the second year in a row, our girls have outscored the boys in mathematics in the nation,'' Wexler said. ``We're getting a lot of girls through higher levels of math.''

School officials attributed the increase in scores to students enrolling in Advanced Placement and other high-level academic courses, motivation, parental support, good teachers, and a strong curriculum.

``We've had an increase in the number of students taking AP and community college courses,'' Wexler said. ``Eventually it leads to them having a better background in the SAT.''

In past years, area high school officials said their students accounted for 2 percent of the college enrollment, which went up to 4.8 percent last year.

``The class of 2000 had a huge number of students taking Advanced Placement and community college-level classes,'' Wexler said. ``Our students were taking more than 3,500 college-level-type classes.''

Wexler said the district has also placed a greater emphasis on meeting the state standards and in recent years had adjusted its curriculum.

A math book that was used in an eighth-grade classroom seven years ago is now being introduced in the seventh grade, Wexler said.

``That means that kids are getting more sophisticated math in the seventh grade,'' Wexler said.

Locally and throughout the state, officials said more and more students are taking the SAT. Though the number decreased at two of the high schools, a large increase at Valencia High School boosted the local average to a 22-student increase.

An additional 65 Valencia students and eight Saugus students took the test this year. The number at Canyon dropped by 15; it was down 36 at Hart.

Since 1995, when 625 students took the test, the number of students who are taking the test locally has increased by 40 percent. There has been a 72 percent increase since 1990.

Locally, 43 percent of the the district's graduating seniors took the test. Four hundred, seventy-six girls took the SAT compared with 398 boys, with local boys still outscoring girls in math and girls taking the lead in the verbal portion.

SAT SCORES

Here's how students scored on the SAT test for the Wm. S. Hart High School District

SCHOOL 99 2000

Verbal Math Verbal Math

Canyon 507 539 535 552

Hart 543 564 522 551

Saugus 544 569 537 569

Valencia 509 539 519 536

District 528 554 526 551

State 497 497 514 518

Nation 505 505 511 514

Source: Hart School District

CAPTION(S):

chart

Chart: SAT SCORES (see text)