Blair class of 2005 SAT scores lowest in five years

Blair's average SAT score for the class of 2005 fell by 44 points compared to the year before, according to MCPS SAT participation and performance data released on Sept. 1. Blair's average SAT score was two points higher than the MCPS average and 76 points higher than the national average.

Blair's SAT participation rate was 71.1 percent, the highest reported in the past five years and a nearly five percent increase from the class of 2004. Winston Churchill High School had the highest participation rate at 91.4 percent. A record 7,355 MCPS seniors took the SAT during the 2004-2005 school year.

African-Americans and Latinos at Blair reported the highest participation rates in five years, with 69.1 and 49.1 percent, respectively.

Blair's average SAT score was 1104, MCPS's average was 1102, the state average was 1026 and the national average was 1028. Walt Whitman High School had the highest average SAT score in the county with 1256.

In MCPS, 79.6 percent of females took the SAT, while only 73.5 males did. For Blair, however, 68.8 percent of the females took the SAT while 73.4 percent of males did. Countywide, male students had a higher average SAT score than female students, with scores of 1121 and 1084 respectively. However, male Blair students had a lower average SAT score than female Blair students, with scores of 1063 and 1149 respectively.