Georgias African-American students outscored their peers across the nation, scoring an average of 1,293 on the test, ranking 34 in the nation and two points higher than the national average for African-American students.  Georgias Hispanic students also showed improved performance with an average score of 1,419, ranking 34 in the nation and averaging 48 points higher than the national average for Hispanic students.  Georgia continues to have one of the smallest achievement gaps among student subgroups in the nation.

Governor Perdue and Superintendent Cox credited hard-working teachers and students with the increased national ranking, and named a series of measures as further evidence of improvement:

• Online SAT prep courses became available to all Georgia high school students in September 2005.  In 2005, approximately 100,000 students took advantage of the free online prep course. The test prep is being offered again this year to all students in public, private and home school programs.

• GAcollege411.org went online in February 2005 with free access to SAT and ACT sample tests and information on entrance requirements, programs, costs and campuses of nearly 100 public and private colleges in Georgia.
• Georgia has adopted, developed and implemented a more rigorous academic curriculum.

• Georgia has seen a 20 percent increase in the number of students taking Advanced Placement courses in high school, and a 16.9 percent increase in the number of students receiving a three, four or five on AP exams, therefore qualifying for college credit.
• The Georgia General Assembly authorized funding of the PSAT for all public school students in tenth grade.
• Governor Perdue implemented the Governors Cup Challenge in 2003 to promote competition among schools and districts for the highest SAT scores.  The Governors Cup Challenge is sponsored by Turner Broadcasting System, Inc.

In addition to these measures, Gov. Perdue and the General Assembly have worked diligently to put new ideas and programs in place that will potentially foster even more improvement in SAT scores.  We have passed legislation that made virtual Internet classrooms a reality for students with special needs  namely home-schoolers and high achievers.  We have taken important steps to curb the rate of high school dropouts in Georgia with legislation that requires the student and one of their parents meet with the principal or a completion counselor to ensure they understand the consequences of quitting school.  Another great piece of legislation that became law this year establishes a grant program to attract high-performance principals to secondary schools identified as needs improvement schools. 

Better SAT scores in Georgia mean that more of our students will be accepted into the colleges and universities of their choice.  These results are just another example of the great work that is going on in Georgias classrooms.  I am extremely proud of our progress this year.  It demonstrates that our students are working harder, achieving more and becoming better prepared for their futures.  Most of all, the skill and commitment of Georgias teachers are directly responsible for the bump in SAT scores, and Id like to thank them for their hard work in educating our children.