Yet the most solid good news in the report is the strong gain made in recent years by minority students and the trend toward high school students taking higher-level courses to prepare for college. The college board reports that over the last ten years, scores for African-Americans rose 6 points on verbal and 11 points on math. Meanwhile Asian-Americans gained 17 points on each test. The board also reported that test takers had the highest level of study ever reported. Grade-point averages among those taking the SAT continue to rise.
Illinois students continue to score far above the national average.
Illinois verbal scores averaged 564, and math scores averaged 575. A recent Harvard study found that Illinois students ranked fifth best in the nation on the SATs, when adjusted for the percentage of students taking the test. Table of Contents School pays off Two years after they complete high school, graduates earn nearly 25 percent more on average than those who dropped out, according to U.S. Education Secretary Richard W. Riley. The rate for whites is 90.7 percent and for blacks, 83.3 percent. More students are taking higher-level courses in high school, particularly women and minorities.