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New Year’s blessings to the SCPS community! The first six months of the 2015-2016 school year proved to be not just positive but also downright encouraging for this school community. From academic awards to athletic achievements to ringing successes in the fine and performing arts, SCPS students have proved time and again how they continually flourish in our school.

To begin this New Year, and new semester, with further encouragement, I want to offer some statistics. Don’t nod off, or roll your eyes, please—you’ll want to see these statistics. You’ll want to share them with your family and friends, especially those who are looking for a Christian education that is “distinctively Christian, distinctively academic.” Please read on.

Last fall, the prestigious Council for American Private Education (CAPE) commented on a Washington Post story on the growing concerns about falling SAT scores. Citing the Post’s headline, “SAT Scores at Lowest Level in 10 Years,” the CAPE analysis further excerpted from the article: SAT scores “have sunk to the lowest level since the college admission test was overhauled in 2005.” As a nation, we need to be concerned by such a report, especially since public-school districts (and the national government) have expended staggering amounts of financial resources to improve public education—with only unimpressive results (to say the least) considering the amount expended.

In this blog I want briefly to highlight some statistics from CAPE’s research. In the next few paragraphs, you’ll see why I told you you’d want to read on. These comparative statistics will be most encouraging for you. For the sake of brevity, I’ll use some bulleted excerpts:

  • “In each of the subjects tested, SAT scores for college-bound seniors in religious and independent schools were substantially higher than the national average, actually helping to boost that average.”
  • “SAT scores for 2015 graduates of religious and independent schools exceeded the SAT College and Career Benchmark score of 1550 on the three SAT tests (critical reading, writing, and mathematics) that helps predict success in college.”
  • College-bound seniors from “religious schools” (i.e., faith-based) averaged scores of 1596—134 points above public-school averages!
  • Independent and religious school graduates in 2015 overall scored 6 mean points higher than public-school graduates in reading; 9 points higher in writing; and 13 points higher in math.
  • Doing a quick analysis of SCPS’s SAT scores for the past nine years, I observe that SCPS’s “mid-range” (i.e., attaining the college-readiness benchmark of 1550) and highest SAT scores ranged from 1554 to over 2320 on the three tests!

Even this brief overview confirms that SCPS’s College-Board based program of studies offers its students a nationally benchmarked education. It also reaffirms the wisdom and strength of our mission and philosophy: “Developing the whole person to the glory of God.”

 

Blessings & best wishes as we begin a new year!

 

David Pitre

Interim Headmaster