COVINGTON, Ga. - Newton County School System’s district scores on the SAT have increased across the board and each of the system’s three high schools also saw great gains in 2018. Overall, the district increased its score on the evidenced-base reading and writing section by 10 points while the system’s math score increased five points in 2018. As a result, the NCSS's composite score on the SAT increased by 16 points this year.

The SAT is a national college entrance exam some colleges and universities utilize to measure critical thinking skills students need for academic success in college. The SAT assesses how well students analyze and solve problems. It is typically taken by high school juniors and seniors.

At the school level, each of the three high schools posted gains in 2018. Alcovy High School’s evidenced-based reading and writing score improved thirteen points over last year’s scores and their math score increased three points resulting in a composite score of 975 — 16 points better than their 2017 score.

Eastside High School also posted great gains in 2018. The school’s evidenced-based reading and writing score increased ten points while the school’s math score rose 27 points this year. As a result, Eastside’s composite score soared 36 points in 2018. In addition, Eastside High School bested their counterparts in both the state’s and nation’s public schools in every category on the 2018 SAT. 

Newton High School students also improved their score on the evidenced-based reading and writing portion of the SAT by eight points in 2018. While the school’s math score dipped two points, overall Newton High School’s composite score improved six points this year.

“I am very proud of the commitment and dedication of our teachers, students, and leaders,” Samantha Fuhrey, Superintendent of NCSS, said. “I am thrilled that we continue to experience improved results on nationally normed college entrance exams. Our Newton County School System team continues to work hard to equip our student to be well-rounded and prepared for the future. We are reviewing our results to identify areas where we might make additional curricular and instructional adjustments to strengthen our students’ academic experiences. These results, coupled with the PSAT, ACT, and Iowa results, help us to plan strategically as early as kindergarten.”

For more information on Newton County’s 2018 SAT results, contact Dr. Allison Jordan, Director of Testing for Newton County Schools, at jordan.allison@newton.k12.ga.us.