Walton County and Social Circle school students perform well on SATs

The Walton County School District (WCSD) graduating class of 2024 earned a mean SAT composite score of 1049, surpassing both the state and national averages by 19 points and 54 points, respectively.

Social Circle High School was close behind with a composite score of 1048, placing it in the top third of all school districts in the state of Georgia.

Walton County School District students recorded a mean score of 537 on the Evidence-Based Reading and Writing (ERW) portion of the assessment and a mean score of 512 on the math portion. That’s compared to averages of 527 and 503, respectively, for students in the state of Georgia and 507 and 488, respectively, for students in the nation’s public schools.

SCHS scored a 541 on the ERW, an 18-point increase for the school, and a 507 on the math portion, a 13-point increase.

“We are proud to see our students exceed both the state and national averages on the SAT,” said Superintendent Chip Underwood. “This is just one indicator that demonstrates our commitment to preparing our students for success in both college and their future careers.”

Georgia students’ mean score decreased by 15 points from 2023, while the national mean score decreased by 8 points, from 1003 in 2023 to 995 in 2024. The Walton overall mean score decreased by 5 points.

The SAT participation rate increased locally and for the State, which sometimes results in relative drops in performance.

SCCS, however, improved its mean SAT score by increasing its average by 31 points overall from the previous school year. SCCS outperformed the state mean score of 1030 by 18 points. These students also beat the national average for public school districts by 53 points, making it the third consecutive year of improvement on the SATs for SCCS graduates.

“We are extremely proud to see these results and that our students have been able to achieve such growth over the last few years,” Carrie Booher, Social Circle City Schools superintendent, said. “It is a district-wide effort to prepare our students for post-secondary opportunities which makes us proud to congratulate both our students and our staff for the hard work that goes into earning such results.”