North Idaho schools score above state average on SATs
Nearly all of the largest high schools in North Idaho performed above the state average on this year’s SAT tests, with one school – Coeur d’Alene Charter Academy – again on top with the highest composite score in Idaho.
Juniors took the college-readiness exam in April under a new scoring system: a perfect score of 800 in math and 800 in reading/writing, for a total of 1,600. Previously, the SAT was divided into three sections with a perfect score of 2,400.
Idaho students who took the SAT this spring scored a statewide average of 511 in reading/writing and 491 in math, for a composite score of 1,002, according to data released Tuesday by the Idaho Department of Education. That means 62 percent met the reading/writing benchmark for college and career readiness, and 35 percent met the math benchmark.
The College Board, which develops the SAT, uses 480 as the college-readiness benchmark in reading/writing and 530 in math. Students at the benchmark level have a 75 percent chance of earning at least a C in their first semester of college, according to the nonprofit organization.
Here are the schoolwide scores for the top 10 performing schools in North Idaho:
School | R/W | Math | Composite | R/W benchmark | Math benchmark |
Coeur d’Alene Charter Academy | 646 | 639 | 1285 | 97% | 97% |
Moscow Senior High School | 567 | 537 | 1104 | 82% | 57% |
Lakeland Senior High School | 540 | 531 | 1071 | 78% | 54% |
Timberlake Senior High School | 539 | 520 | 1059 | 72% | 52% |
Kootenai Jr/Sr High School | 533 | 510 | 1043 | 77% | 38% |
Sandpoint High School | 531 | 510 | 1041 | 71% | 40% |
Prairie Jr/Sr High School | 519 | 516 | 1034 | 68% | 50% |
Post Falls High School | 522 | 504 | 1026 | 71% | 40% |
Coeur d’Alene High School | 512 | 506 | 1019 | 64% | 39% |
Clark Fork Jr/Sr High School | 519 | 497 | 1016 | 67% | NA |
Coeur d’Alene’s other big school, Lake City High, had a composite score of 995, just under the state average. Lake City students had an average score of 513 in reading/writing, slightly above the state average, and 482 in math, below the state average.
Among the largest school districts in Idaho, the Coeur d’Alene School District had the sixth-highest average composite score, at 993.