SDPC students’ results
second best in state

COUNTY — Students in Pickens County scored an average of 1541 on the 2012 SAT, improving from their 2011 score of 1523. Their score beats both the 2012 national average of 1498 and the state average of 1422.

Pickens County’s scores rank first among county-wide school districts in South Carolina and second among all SC school districts behind only York 4.

“I am very proud of our students, teachers and administrators for our SAT results,” superintendent Dr. Kelly Pew said. “We provide a rigorous instructional program that prepares our students for the SAT and other assessments as well as college and careers.”
SDPC students also scored above the state average in each subject area. Their scores also improved in a year in which state and national averages fell.

By school, Daniel High School students scored 1620, Easley High School scored 1537, Liberty High School scored 1363 and Pickens High School scored 1522. Compared to 2011, Daniel improved by 50 points, Easley declined by nine, Liberty declined by 70 and Pickens improved by 60.

“Even though our overall score exceeds the state and nation, we will be looking at individual school scores and identifying areas on which we can improve,” Pew said. “Our instruction department, principals, and teachers will work together to continue to improve our scores.

“Liberty High School has implemented several strategies this year to help prepare students for the SAT,” she said. “They are offering an SAT course for students to take for elective credit. They have trained teachers in Method Test Prep for them to integrate into their classroom instruction. This helps students with test-taking strategies for the SAT. They are infusing math into each classroom at Liberty High. The principal plans to offer the Preliminary SAT and PLAN (college readiness test for 10th graders) to every student and will train teachers in how to interpret and use the scores to make instructional decisions.”