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Digest of Education Statistics
2011 Tables and Figures All Years of Tables and Figures Most Recent Full Issue of the Digest


Table 153. SAT mean scores of college-bound seniors, by race/ethnicity: Selected years, 1986-87 through 2010-11
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 2008-09     Score change
2009-10 2010-11 1986-87
to
1996-97
2000-01
to
2010-11
2005-06
to 2010-11
2009-10 to
2010-11
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20
SAT—Critical reading                                      
All students 507 499 505 505 506 504 507 508 508 503 502 502 501 501 497 -2 -9 -6 -4
White 524 518 526 528 529 527 529 528 532 527 527 528 528 528 528 2 -1 1 0
Black 428 427 434 434 433 430 431 430 433 434 433 430 429 429 428 6 -5 -6 -1
Mexican American 457 454 451 453 451 446 448 451 453 454 455 454 453 454 451 -6 0 -3 -3
Puerto Rican 436 436 454 456 457 455 456 457 460 459 459 456 452 454 452 18 -5 -7 -2
Other Hispanic 464 458 466 461 460 458 457 461 463 458 459 455 455 454 451 2 -9 -7 -3
Asian/
   Pacific Islander
479 485 496 499 501 501 508 507 511 510 514 513 516 519 517 17 16 7 -2
American Indian/
   Alaska Native
471 470 475 482 481 479 480 483 489 487 487 485 486 485 484 4 3 -3 -1
Other 480 486 512 508 503 502 501 494 495 494 497 496 494 494 493 32 -10 -1 -1
                                       
SAT—Mathematics                                      
All students 501 500 511 514 514 516 519 518 520 518 515 515 515 516 514 10 0 -4 -2
White 514 513 526 530 531 533 534 531 536 536 534 537 536 536 535 12 4 -1 -1
Black 411 419 423 426 426 427 426 427 431 429 429 426 426 428 427 12 1 -2 -1
Mexican American 455 459 458 460 458 457 457 458 463 465 466 463 463 467 466 3 8 1 -1
Puerto Rican 432 439 447 451 451 451 453 452 457 456 454 453 450 452 452 15 1 -4 0
Other Hispanic 462 462 468 467 465 464 464 465 469 463 463 461 461 462 462 6 -3 -1 0
Asian/
   Pacific Islander
541 548 560 565 566 569 575 577 580 578 578 581 587 591 595 19 29 17 4
American Indian/
   Alaska Native
463 468 475 481 479 483 482 488 493 494 494 491 493 492 488 12 9 -6 -4
Other 482 492 514 515 512 514 513 508 513 513 512 512 514 514 517 32 5 4 3
                                       
SAT—Writing                                      
All students 497 494 494 493 492 489 -8 -3
White 519 518 518 517 516 516 -3 0
Black 428 425 424 421 420 417 -11 -3
Mexican American 452 450 447 446 448 445 -7 -3
Puerto Rican 448 447 445 443 443 442 -6 -1
Other Hispanic 450 450 448 448 447 444 -6 -3
Asian/
   Pacific Islander
512 513 516 520 526 528 16 2
American Indian/
   Alaska Native
474 473 470 469 467 465 -9 -2
Other 493 493 494 493 492 492 -1 0
†Not applicable.
NOTE: Data for 2009-10 and earlier years are for seniors who took the SAT any time during their high school years through March of their senior year. Data for 2010-11 are for seniors who took the SAT any time during their high school years through June 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 2010-11, retrieved September 14, 2011, from http://professionals.collegeboard.com/profdownload/cbs2011_total_group_report.pdf. (This table was prepared September 2011.)

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