VIRGINIA BEACH — Virginia Beach students performed better than the national average on the SAT for the seventh consecutive year. The city also had the highest scores on the redesigned test in Hampton Roads, according to the school district.
A mean overall SAT score of 1091 for Virginia Beach City Public Schools’ Class of 2017 topped the national average of 1044 for public school students. Virginia Beach was 30 points and 17 points higher than the national average in reading/writing and math, respectively.
“This is wonderful news for our students, our families and our division,” Superintendent Aaron Spence said. “Such a strong performance on the SAT illustrates that our students are mastering not only content in the classroom, but the critical thinking and analytical skills necessary to thrive in the college setting as well as in their future careers.”
Statewide Virginia’s overall mean score of 1095 was 51 points higher than the national average, according to the VDOE.
Still, across the Commonwealth, an achievement gap persists as white and Asian students outperformed their black and Hispanic peers.
“Virginia students begin this new SAT trend line achieving at levels well above their peers nationwide,” Superintendent of Public Instruction Steven R. Staples said in a statement. “Our challenge moving forward is to narrow — and ultimately close — the achievement gaps evident in these results and make sure all of our students are college and career ready when they complete high school.”
The data from the College Board is based on SAT results for students who graduated in 2017 and took the new test at least once while in high school.
