By Keith Murden & Dave Williams / The Nugget & Capitol Beat -------------------------The results are in, and the Lumpkin County School System has placed second in SAT scores out of the 14 counties in the Pioneer RESA region. And, for the eighth year in a row, Lumpkin has also cracked the Top-20 list in the state for its performance on the critical test.
The 2024 SAT scores were published by the College Board last Wednesday. Lumpkin County earned an average cumulative score of 1076, just two points shy of Habersham County’s first place total.
Lumpkin County placed 17th out of 182 total school districts in Georgia, with an average score 46 points higher than the state average of 1039, and 81 points above the national average of 995.
Statewide, Georgia public-school students continued to outperform their counterparts in the nation’s public schools on the SAT for the seventh year in a row, recording a mean score of 1030, 35 points higher than the national average.
ACHIEVING EXCELLENCE
Lumpkin County Schools Superintendent Sharon Head shared in a press release that she is “incredibly proud” of the county’s showing on the SAT.
“This achievement reflects the hard work of our students, the dedication of our teachers, and the commitment of our entire district to academic excellence. It’s a true testament to the quality of education we are providing and the bright futures ahead for our students!” Head stated.
Lumpkin placed 13th in the state on the Reading and Writing section with an average score of 557, and 19th in the state on the Math section with a score of 519.
The Nugget reached out to Lumpkin County High School Principal Brian Matthews for comment about the system’s stellar performance.
“Our teachers, K-12, work hard day in and day out to lay a foundation in reading, math and critical thinking skills,” Matthews said.
He said the results are “a testament to how determined our students are to excel inside the classroom and how much they push and challenge themselves to be the best of the best.”
“This nationally-normed data proves that our students can compete with the best and are prepared to continue their educational journey at any post-secondary institution. We're extremely proud of the Class of 2024 for their hard work and performance,” Matthews added.
STATE STATS
Georgia’s public-school class of 2024 recorded a mean score of 527 on the Reading and Writing portion of the test and a mean score of 503 on the Math portion. That beat the averages of 507 and 488, respectively, for students in the nation’s public schools.
“I am so proud of the class of 2024 and their teachers, parents, families, and the communities who supported them,” state School Superintendent Richard Woods said.
“We continue to see Georgia students outpacing the national average on the SAT and ACT and that’s a testament to the work we’ve done in Georgia to invest in our students’ academic recovery post-pandemic and create opportunities in our public schools that prepare every child for life.”
SLIGHT SLIP
While Lumpkin’s results this year are certainly competitive, they do represent a 25-point decline from the prior year’s outstanding results, in which the county placed first in Pioneer RESA and ninth in the state, with an average total SAT score of 1101.
The same trend could be seen statewide as well, however, as Georgia students’ mean score in 2024 was down from 1045 last year. The national mean score also decreased from 1003 in 2023.
Part of this change may be attributed to the fact that participation in the SAT in Georgia has increased, which sometimes leads to moderate drops in performance.
52 percent of the class of 2024 took the test at some point during their high school career, up from a 50 percent participation rate the previous year.