Georgia high school seniors continue besting the nation on SAT

For the fifth year in a row, Georgia public-school students outperformed their peers across the country on the SAT.

Georgia’s class of 2022 recorded a mean score of 1052, 24 points higher than the 1028 national score but lower compared to the previous year, when Georgia students posted a mean score of 1077. The Georgia group also scored higher in the component portions of the test, with a mean score of 536 on the Evidence-Based Reading and Writing portion and 516 in math.

The high marks came despite the disruptions of the coronavirus pandemic, which caused many schools to close and switch to online instruction.

“That’s a testament to the hard work of students and teachers,” State School Superintendent Richard Woods said.

“While students and school have faced significant challenges over the last several years, as a state we will continue to invest in academic recovery and the opportunities available to every graduate of every Georgia public school.”

Participation in the SAT among the Georgia class of 2022 increased sharply compared to 2021, when the impacts of the pandemic, the cancellation of some test registrations, and the closure of some test centers in 2020 caused fewer students in the graduating class to take the test.

Just more than half of the 2022 class took the SAT, up from 38% in 2021.

Georgia high school students haven’t been as incentivized to take the test as in past years. Citing the effects of the pandemic on learning, the University System of Georgia waived SAT and ACT test requirements at most of the system’s 26 institutions during the last school year and is doing so again this year.

This story is available through a news partnership with Capitol Beat News Service, a project of the Georgia Press Educational Foundation.