West Virginia High School Improves SAT Proficiency

“This is the highest it’s been”
Ask Principal Luke Swiney, “How many Ravenswood High students met SAT benchmark last year?” He has a big smile on his face as he responds, “This is the highest it’s been.”

Ravenswood High School, a public high school with 414 students in Jackson County School District in West Virginia, reports a historic increase from its 2022-23 junior class in proficiency in both SAT Math and Evidence-Based Reading and Writing. The 2022-23 school year was the first year Ravenswood implemented MasteryPrep SAT products to improve college readiness.

Ravenswood High School

In ERW, Ravenswood juniors ranked No. 8 out of 112 high schools in the state with 62% meeting benchmark, compared to the 2021-22 school year when the junior class ranked No. 73 with just 43% proficient. In Math, Ravenswood juniors ranked No. 23, compared to No. 76 the previous year, with 26% proficient compared to 15% the previous year.

West Virginia, in its SAT Suite of Assessments Annual Report, considers 460 as the benchmark ERW section score and 510 as the Math section score for juniors. The state “met benchmark” percentage for ERW is 48% (Ravenswood – 62%), while Math is 21% (Ravenswood – 26%).

2021-22 School Year
ERW "Met Benchmark"
43%

No. 73 out of 112

Math "Met Benchmark"
15%

No. 76 out of 112

2022-23 School Year
ERW "Met Benchmark"
62%

No. 8 out of 112

Math "Met Benchmark"
26%

No. 23 out of 112

*Unpaid testimonial. Individual results may vary, and testimonials are not claimed to represent typical results. SAT score gain data is courtesy of MasteryPrep client district and based on year over year SAT test data for the same cohort. All testimonials are real participants and may not reflect the typical user’s experience. This is not intended to represent or guarantee that anyone will achieve the same or similar results.
“This is the highest it’s been in the recent history of our school in terms of SAT proficiency, which is ultimately our goal to get our students to perform well on this test, get into college, and earn scholarships,” said Swiney. “I did a synopsis of the surrounding districts and schools of similar enrollment, we outperformed all except for one school, and they beat us in Math only.”

Ravenswood has an average SAT score of 961, and the graduation rate last year was 90%. “We still have work to do, but the improvement is a testament to the hard work of our teachers, staff, students, and the implementation of MasteryPrep’s products and practice tests that proved to be accurate indicators of how our students would do on the real SAT test.”

“Trust the Data”
Ravenswood administered the first practice test in October. Following that test, Swiney developed a “Focused Instruction Plan” Excel file that dissected each student’s practice test scores, strengths, and weaknesses – data that schools receive through MasteryPrep’s TruScore.

“I took each standard from MasteryPrep and made it a drop down, so it was easier for the teacher to select the skill under the student. I wanted their mind to be set on the data and the student, rather than the technical/clerical side of things. I told them, ‘Trust the Data.’ The data is only as good as how we use it and what we do with the information, and our teachers took the data back into the classroom and taught accordingly.”

TruScore Testing & Analysis for the SAT
From October to January, teachers used the TruScore data, along with SAT Elements, to improve upon students’ weaknesses. In January, Ravenswood administered a second practice test, with similar follow-up teaching methods through April. In April, juniors took the school-administered SAT, while freshmen and sophomores took a third practice test. “Where our students fell short on the skills they needed, we identified those, and formulated our instruction,” Swiney said. “All of our chips were in the middle of the table for that April test, and we were fully prepared.”
Test-taking stamina and anxiety are two challenges for students taking the SAT.

Swiney said test-taking stamina and anxiety are two challenges for students taking the SAT. “That’s another added benefit of preparing our students with full-length practice tests because they can adjust to the mental battle to withstand the three hours of the real test, and anxiety is lessened by the more practice tests you take. This high level of preparation helps our students achieve their full potential.”