One high school in Columbia, SC, is one of 12 in the state to win cash for substantially improving SAT scores:
A.C. Flora High School has an extra $10,000 thanks to the student body’s stellar performance on the SAT...
For the past four years, the S.C. school with the largest gain has received $50,000 while the remaining schools get $10,000 each. Funding is provided by the General Assembly.
A.C. Flora officials haven’t figure [sic] out just how they’ll spend the cash...
Several teachers point to Flora’s International Baccalaureate Program as one reason for the SAT increase. Select students take rigorous courses that require independent thinking and community service. The students also must pass a final exam that’s graded by judges around the world.
Graduates earn special diplomas that can be their tickets to some of the nation’s most renowned colleges. But the International Baccalaureate Program also helps students who don’t participate in the program.
“Many of our teachers have had that training (to teach the International Baccalaureate classes),” said Betsy Adams, media specialist at A.C. Flora. “And that benefits all the students they teach, whether they’re in the program or not.”
Another reason for the SAT gain: the statewide SAT competitions. The state Education Department sponsors an annual SAT competition among high schools. Teams of students compete for the highest score on a version of the SAT.
“It’s made the kids more conscious of the importance of the test,” said Adams, Flora’s SAT team coach. “The publicity has been quite helpful.”
Posted by kswygert at December 29, 2003 09:50 AM