Idaho Students Outpace Peers Nationally on SAT

BOISE – Idaho students continue to outperform their peers nationally and in neighboring states on the SAT, according to the most recent results.



“I am excited to see Idaho students continue to outpace students nationally and their peers in Washington, Oregon and other surrounding states on the SAT. We still have a lot of work to do to ensure every student is college- and career-ready after high school, but I celebrate the great achievements our students have made so far and look forward to building on this progress,” Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Luna said.


The SAT is a college readiness exam that students take when applying for undergraduate colleges and universities in the United States. The SAT measures students’ skills in critical reading, mathematics and writing.


On average, Idaho students scored a 1601. That’s well above the national average score of 1509 and above students in most of Idaho’s surrounding states. For example, students in Washington State scored an average 1564, and Oregon students scored an average 1546, according to the 2010 SAT results.


Here is how Idaho students, on average, scored when compared to students around the country in each subject area:

Idaho National average

Critical Reading 543 501

Mathematics 541 516

Writing 517 492

Total 1601 1509


To see the full report on the 2010 SAT scores, visit http://www.collegeboard.com/

Superintendent Luna has played a lead role in the Education Alliance of Idaho, a coalition of leaders in the education and business communities throughout Idaho working to ensure every Idaho student not only graduates from high school but graduates prepared to go on to postsecondary education or the workforce without the need for remediation.

Learn more about the Education Alliance of Idaho and its plan to improve education statewide at http://www.sde.idaho.gov/site/visionmissiongoals.htm

Great job students!

~Niccole B.