In 2005, a combined 539 students at five high schools took the SAT. The SAT is used by colleges and universities located in the Midwest for freshman admission to assist in determining the student's potential for academic success in college. The SAT is usually taken by seniors early in the school year as well as by juniors during spring testing. The SAT is offered seven times yearly on Saturday mornings at designated test centers and can be retaken as often as the student desires.

SAT Summary - 2005

	2004-05	2003-04	2002-03	2001-02
Terre Haute North Vigo
Verbal	517	503	506	497
Math	517	501	508	515
Total	1034	1004	1014	1012
# Tested	240	253	264	261
Terre Haute South Vigo
Verbal	504	519	505	524
Math	505	524	508	536
Total	1009	1043	1013	1057
# Tested	79	93	68	65
Vigo County School Corporation
Verbal	502	503	501	505
Math	504	503	501	516
Total	1006	1006	1002	1021
# Tested	539	580	563	553
State of Indiana
Verbal	504	501	500	498
Math	508	506	504	503
Total	1012	1007	1004	1001
National Scores
Verbal	508	508	507	504
Math	520	518	519	516
Total	1028	1026	1026	1020

Because course content and grading standards vary widely among high schools, colleges may have a difficult time comparing the academic records of their applicants. The SAT gives colleges an objective way of evaluating what students know and can do. The SAT is intended to supplement, not replace, high school records in assessing a student's readiness for college level work.

It is important to note that the College Board has made major changes beginning with the March 2005 test. In summary:

• Students will be asked to write a 25 minute essay. Multiplechoice questions will also see how well students use standard written English. The essay will assess students' abilities to write on demand and will be similar to the type of writing that students have to do to answer an essay question for college tests.
• The critical reading section, currently known as the verbal section, will become more of a reading assessment. It will include shorter reading passages along with the existing long reading passages. Analogies will be eliminated, but  sentence completion questions will remain.
• The new math section will add questions from Algebra II. Quantitative comparison questions will be eliminated.

The current SAT includes verbal and math scores for a total of 1600 points. The new SAT will include critical reading, math, and writing scores for a total of 2400 points. The College Board stresses that, for many years, college educators and business professionals have been expressing concern about the quality of writing among college students and young employees in the workplace. The College Board desires that the teaching of writing should be a top priority. Many colleges will require scores from the new SAT beginning with the entering class of 2006. Since there may be a few exceptions, students should contact each school to which they are applying to ensure they have accurate information on admissions requirements.

To prepare this year's juniors for the new test, the state of Indiana paid the total costs for students to take the PSAT/NMSQT given in October, which is excellent practice for the new SAT. In December, students will receive detailed reports of their PSAT performance in reading, math, and writing and glean specific suggestions for  improvement in preparation for the new SAT.

Vigo County will be one of the first districts in the Midwest to host an SAT Exam Readiness Workshop conducted by the College Board. In March, the College Board will provide a two-day training for middle and high school English and math teachers in Vigo County to prepare students for the SAT and the demands of college level work.

Vigo County students surveyed on last year's SAT report that 77% of students plan to earn a four-year Bachelor's Degree in college. The top six intended majors include: health and allied services (23%); education (15%); social sciences and history (10%); business and commerce (11%); engineering (8%); and computer or information services (5%).  Our schools continue to encourage students to take more rigorous academic courses. The data shows that students with more challenging academic course work have increased SAT scores.