Illinois SAT Scores Are Nothing to Write Home About

Average state scores drop in all subjects

When it comes to the three Rs—reading, writing, and 'rithmetic— ranking highly on one out of three isn't so bad, right?

That's what Illinois students are dealing with. Collectively, the state's high school students' average SAT scores dropped in all subjects for 2010. Illinois did average the highest score in the country on the essay portion of the writing test, but it's a small solace.

Illinois ranked seventh in reading, sixth in math, and fifth in writing based on scores from all states in all subjects, reports Chicago Breaking News.

In the writing test, students were presented with several multiple-choice grammar questions and then assigned to write an essay on a specific topic. Illinois students scored an average 7.9 (out of a possible 12) on the essay, the highest in the country.

But that still wasn't enough to save Illinois' sliding SAT scores. Students averaged lower writing scores, reading scores, and math scores than in 2009.

"You never want to see scores decline but this is a very slight dip of less than one percent," Mary Fergus, a spokesperson for the Illinois State Board of Education, told Chicago Breaking News.

Fergus also wants to remind people that fewer than 6 percent of Illinois' students take the SAT.

So just where are these SAT-takers sending their well-written essays?

According to the College Board, Illinois' class of 2010 sent their results most frequently to the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, the University of Chicago, Northwestern University, Washington University in St. Louis, and Harvard University.

Hopefully those schools have plenty of tutors.

Matt Bartosik is a Chicago native and a social media sovereign.

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