Fast Report

• As many as 15,000 K-12 public school students in Louisiana and Mississippi missed school last year due to lingering problems following Hurricane Katrina, the Southern Education Foundation reported Aug. 29.

Federal funding fell far short of the amount needed, states Education After Katrina: Time for a New Federal Response. The costs of rebuilding K-12 schools and colleges destroyed or damaged by the storm two years ago is $6.2 billion, the report says. But only $1.2 billion has been committed to rebuilding and repairing school facilities.

It also says states outside the Gulf Coast spent as much as $163 million to assist displaced students during the 2005-06 school year.

No federal funds were available to support efforts to locate or re-engage as many as 30,000 K-12 students who had dropped out after the storm. And there were no federal funds to support summer programs to help students who had missed two or more months of school.

• Average SAT scores for the class of 2007 dropped slightly, although more students took the exam.

The average combined scores on the three sections of the SAT -- critical reading, mathematics, and writing -- declined by seven points, from 1518 in 2006 to 1511 in 2007.

The average score in critical reading declined the least, from 503 to 502. The average math score dropped from 518 to 515, and the writing score decreased from 497 to 494.

Among the factors that have been cited for the decline: more students are taking the test, and the College Board’s action to lengthen the test to three hours and 45 minutes two years ago.

Nearly 1.5 million students in the class of 2007 took the SAT, and nearly four of 10 test-takers were minorities.

In one of the major bright spots in the SAT results, Mexican-Americans and other Hispanics both showed a 1 point gain in critical reading from 2006 to 2007.

NSBA’s Center for Public Education has analyzed both the SAT and ACT results (see below) and has developed a guide to help school board members interpret the scores in their districts. See www.nsba.org/ CenterforPublicEducation.

• Scores on the American College Testing Program showed slight improvements from last year, the non-profit organization known as ACT reported Aug. 15.

The average composite score for high school students in the graduating class of 2007 was 21.2, compared to 21.1 for students who graduated in 2006 and 20.8 in 2003.

Scores improved on all four components of the ACT test: English, mathematics, reading, and science. Each component is scored on a scale of 1 to 36.

All racial-ethnic groups posted a higher composite score since last year, except for African American students, whose average score was down 0.1 percent from last year.

The percentage of graduates who met or surpassed ACT’s College Readiness Benchmarks has improved over the past five years, particularly in math and science.

This year, 1.3 million students took the ACT, up from 1.2 million last year.