RALEIGH — On Oct. 6, the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction released its annual SAT report detailing the college preparatory results for the 115 public school systems in North Carolina as well as charter schools. The report included a district, state, and national average, a demographic state-wide breakdown, and results listed by school. Bladen County results are summarized below.

2015/2016 SAT scores
BCS East Bladen West Bladen State Nation
#/% students 140/47 88/63 52/33 NG NG
Math score 428 429 425 504 494
Critical reading 427 417 443 496 487
Writing 393 392 396 468 472
M + CR 855 846 868 1000 981
M + CR + W 1248 1238 1264 1468 1453

The highest-scoring districts in the state (based on the composite score) are Chapel Hill-Carborro with 1781, Cartaret County with 1588, and Clay County with 1583. Raleigh Charter High School, a district unto itself, far outdistanced every other district with a composite score of 1865, almost 100 points higher than its nearest competitor.

The lowest-scoring districts are Halifax County with 1164, Northampton County with 1163, and Hartford County with 1143.

Neighboring counties fared as follows: Columbus (1280), Cumberland (1397), Pender (1493), Robeson (1258) and Sampson (1342).

Proponents of small systems say smaller focus means greater results. Supporting that theory are districts like Clay County, in which the 32 students who took the SAT averaged 1583 points or Avery County, in which the scores of 20 students averaged 1474. However, Halifax County, one of the lowest-scoring districts, only tested 57 students, and Weldon County’s 59 SAT takers only brought home 1188 points.

Others argue higher numbers mean more money, which translates into increased performance. Cabarrus County, for instance, tested 1,155 students, who scored an average of 1490 points. Charlotte-Mecklenburg’s 4,872 students scored 1475 points each on average, and when Guilford County’s 3,324 students took the test, they averaged 1446 points each. Of the 115 districts, every district with more than 500 test-takers scored above 1350.

School districts with a comparable number of test-takers include Anson County (130 students, 1195 points), Beauford County (140 students, 1380 points), McDowell County (138 students, 1432 points), Hickory (135 students, 1488 points), and Macon County (131 students, 1432 points).

Though previous years’ scores were given, due to changes in the SAT, scores from this year are not comparable to scores from previous years.

Bladen County Schools could not be reached for comment.

Chrysta Carroll can be reached by calling 910-862-4163.

By Chrysta Carroll

ccarroll@civitasmedia.com