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Digest of Education Statistics
2008 Tables and Figures All Years of Tables and Figures Most Recent Full Issue of the Digest


Table 141. SAT mean scores of college-bound seniors, by race/ethnicity: Selected years, 1986–87 through 2007–08
Race/ethnicity 1986–87 1990–91 1996–97 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 Score change
1986–87 to 1996–97 1996–97 to 2006–07 2000–01 to 2001–02 2001–02 to 2002–03 2002–03 to 2003–04 2003–04 to 2004–05 2004–05 to 2005–06 2005–06 to 2006–07 2006–07 to 2007–08
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22
SAT—Critical reading                                          
All students 507 499 505 505 506 504 507 508 508 503 502 502 -2 -3 -2 3 1 0 -5 -1 0
White 524 518 526 528 529 527 529 528 532 527 527 528 2 1 -2 2 -1 4 -5 0 1
Black 428 427 434 434 433 430 431 430 433 434 433 430 6 -1 -3 1 -1 3 1 -1 -3
Mexican American 457 454 451 453 451 446 448 451 453 454 455 454 -6 4 -5 2 3 2 1 1 -1
Puerto Rican 436 436 454 456 457 455 456 457 460 459 459 456 18 5 -2 1 1 3 -1 0 -3
Other Hispanic 464 458 466 461 460 458 457 461 463 458 459 455 2 -7 -2 -1 4 2 -5 1 -4
Asian/Pacific Islander 479 485 496 499 501 501 508 507 511 510 514 513 17 18 0 7 -1 4 -1 4 -1
American Indian/Alaska Native 471 470 475 482 481 479 480 483 489 487 487 485 4 12 -2 1 3 6 -2 0 -2
Other 480 486 512 508 503 502 501 494 495 494 497 496 32 -15 -1 -1 -7 1 -1 3 -1
SAT—Mathematics                                          
All students 501 500 511 514 514 516 519 518 520 518 515 515 10 4 2 3 -1 2 -2 -3 0
White 514 513 526 530 531 533 534 531 536 536 534 537 12 8 2 1 -3 5 0 -2 3
Black 411 419 423 426 426 427 426 427 431 429 429 426 12 6 1 -1 1 4 -2 0 -3
Mexican American 455 459 458 460 458 457 457 458 463 465 466 463 3 8 -1 0 1 5 2 1 -3
Puerto Rican 432 439 447 451 451 451 453 452 457 456 454 453 15 7 0 2 -1 5 -1 -2 -1
Other Hispanic 462 462 468 467 465 464 464 465 469 463 463 461 6 -5 -1 0 1 4 -6 0 -2
Asian/Pacific Islander 541 548 560 565 566 569 575 577 580 578 578 581 19 18 3 6 2 3 -2 0 3
American Indian/Alaska Native 463 468 475 481 479 483 482 488 493 494 494 491 12 19 4 -1 6 5 1 0 -3
Other 482 492 514 515 512 514 513 508 513 513 512 512 32 -2 2 -1 -5 5 0 -1 0
SAT—Writing                                          
All students †  †  †  †  †  †  †  †  †  497 494 494 †  †  †  †  †  †  †  -3 0
White 519 518 518 -1 0
Black 428 425 424 -3 -1
Mexican American 452 450 447 -2 -3
Puerto Rican 448 447 445 -1 -2
Other Hispanic 450 450 448 0 -2
Asian/Pacific Islander 512 513 516 1 3
American Indian/Alaska Native 474 473 470 -1 -3
Other 493 493 494 0 1
† Not applicable.
NOTE: Data are for seniors who took the SAT any time during their high school years through March of their senior year. If a student took a test more than once, the most recent score was used. The SAT was formerly known as the Scholastic Assessment Test and the Scholastic Aptitude Test. Possible scores on each part of the SAT range from 200 to 800. The critical reading section was formerly known as the verbal section. The writing section was introduced in March 2005.
SOURCE: College Entrance Examination Board, College-Bound Seniors: Total Group Profile [National] Report, selected years, 1986–87 through 2007–08, retrieved August 26, 2008, from http://professionals.collegeboard.com/data-reports-research/sat/cb-seniors-2008. (This table was prepared August 2008.)

2008 Tables and Figures All Years of Tables and Figures Most Recent Full Issue of the Digest