WILL THE FAIRFAX COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS SAT SCORE BREAK THE 65TH PERCENTILE?
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
10/6/2000 CONTACT: ARTHUR PURVES phone: 703 281-0176 e-mail: purves@fcta.org WILL THE FAIRFAX COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS SAT SCORE BREAK THE 65TH PERCENTILE? Arthur G. Purves, president of the Fairfax County Taxpayers Alliance, today challenged Fairfax County Public Schools Superintendent, Dr. Daniel A. Domenech, to report the percentile of the school system's average SAT score. The superintendent usually announces the previous year's SAT results during the last week of August or first week of September. Previous Fairfax County Public Schools press releases about SAT results report the average scores but not the percentiles. The Fairfax County Taxpayers Alliance has been reporting the Fairfax County Public Schools SAT percentiles for several years. Since 1988, the earliest year for which percentiles are available, the Fairfax County Public Schools average SAT score has fluctuated between the 63rd and 65th percentile. The average SAT score of the class of 98-99 was at the 64th percentile. Mr. Purves recently asked the superintendent's Office of Community Relations to include percentiles in this year's SAT press release. When asked earlier this week, the Office of Community Relations did not know if percentile information would be included. "Fairfax County ranks at the 99th percentile in terms of affluence and educational level of adults," Mr. Purves stated. "Furthermore, educational leaders say that affluence and educational level of adults strongly influence student academic achievement. If that is the case, then Fairfax County Public Schools students should be scoring at the 90th percentile, not the 65th percentile." The schools' SAT performance is especially disappointing considering the enormous funding increases in the school budget. Since 1975, per-student spending in Fairfax County Public Schools has increased nearly 100 percent, adjusted for inflation. With inflation the increase in per-student spending is 560 percent. This gives the schools an extra $700 million more per year than was required to keep up with enrollment growth and inflation since 1975. Seven hundred million dollars per year is the amount required to fully fund the Northern Virginia 2020 Transportation Plan. "School administrators usually blame their poor SAT percentile on the low-income students," Mr. Purves observed. "If administrators believe that demographics prevent higher student achievement, regardless of funding, then school budget increases should be reallocated for tax cuts and transportation."
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