RI SAT scores drop slightly from last year; less than half college- or career-ready

The PSAT and SAT scores are typically released alongside the scores for the RICAS, the test taken by elementary and middle school schools in the spring. But the RICAS scores are not expected to be released until mid-November this year; RIDE officials say they are still validating the scores they received on Sept. 12.

The topline numbers on the SAT show just 25% of 11th-grade students statewide are proficient in math, meaning they scored at least 530 out of 800. Students that scored in the “meets expectations” or “exceeds expectations” categories are considered proficient, which is also Rhode Island’s benchmark for college- or career-readiness.

That number is a slight drop from last year, when 26% of students were proficient in math, and six percentage points lower than before the pandemic, when 31% of 11th-graders were proficient in math on the SAT.

In English language arts, 47% of 11th grade students statewide scored proficient, a small dip from 48% last year. In 2019, pre-pandemic, 50% of students were deemed proficient on the test. (There was no testing in 2020.)

The lowest-performing traditional school districts on the SAT were Central Falls, Pawtucket, Woonsocket, East Providence and Providence, all of which saw slightly worse scores this year compared to last year.

In Central Falls, the math scores were so low that they weren’t shared; RIDE suppresses the data for confidentiality reasons if fewer than 5% of students meet expectations on the test.