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Nick DiPaolo, guidance curriculum leader at Westlake High School, said the change can't be pinpointed to anything specific.
"As a class, maybe the 2012 seniors were a little bit more proficient, but there's all kinds of factors that can go into those scores," DiPaolo said.
The 2012 seniors averaged a score of 589 in the math portion, 565 in the critical reading and 568 in the writing. Those scores are all improvements from the class of 2011, who averaged 571 on the math, 565 in critical reading and 546 in writing. In 2010, the seniors averaged 580 on the math, 550 in critical reading and 570 in writing. All scores are out of 800.
DiPaolo said that with Westlake SAT scores improving, more students are taking the ACT exam as well. DiPaolo said that roughly 50 students from the class of 2010 took the ACT, with 75 taking it in the most recent class. Both senior classes had around 150 students.
ACT scores at Westlake are also going up. In 2010, the seniors averaged a score of 23 out of 36, and the 2012 seniors averaged 25.4.
DiPaolo said he doesn't see the SAT test fading away as time goes on. However, some students are better suited for the ACT exam, he said, which explains its growing popularity.
"The ACT is more direct, if you know the answer it's going to be right in front of you, as opposed to the SAT where you might have to sift through the answers to find the best one," DiPaolo said. "I always recommend to students to take each test once, and then whichever they perform better on to keep working at that one."
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