| South Carolina falls to last place in SAT AIKEN - South Carolina's latest SAT scores are the worst in the nation, according to figures released Friday by Education Superintendent Inez Tenenbaum, with an average that dropped three points from the previous year. And with Mrs. Tenenbaum in a tough race for the U.S. Senate against U.S. Rep. Jim DeMint, the decline took on immediate political overtones, with both Mr. DeMint, the Republican candidate, and his fellow Republican Gov. Mark Sanford attempting to score points at her expense. Mr. Sanford said scores that dropped the state from 49th for the 2002-03 school year, one notch above Georgia's average SAT score, to 50th for the 2003-04 school year are "unacceptable results." "Bouncing back and forth between next-to-last and now dead last in the country isn't progress - it's a sad reminder for many that our state isn't giving parents the choices they need in the education marketplace," Mr. Sanford said in a prepared statement. Mr. DeMint said: "If she wants to build her platform for the Senate on education, she's building it on shifting sand because we've got a lot of work today." Even the timing of the release had the feel of political gamesmanship; Mrs. Tenenbaum decided to break a national embargo on releasing the state's score until next week because someone had leaked the South Carolina results to reporters, said Jim Foster, a spokesman for the South Carolina Department of Education. Will Folks, the governor's press secretary, said Mr. Sanford was briefed on the results, but said the leak didn't occur in the governor's office. However, Mr. Folks also said the governor had concerns about the presence of a conservative think-tank member who sat in on the briefing as a guest of the governor's education adviser, Barbara Nielsen, who was Mrs. Tenenbaum's predecessor. The average score of the college entrance test, which quizzes students in reading and mathematics, dropped from 989 to 986, Mrs. Tenenbaum said. She blamed the decline on a brutal series of state budget cuts that have pinched public school dollars and pointed out that, despite the drop, the state's improvement rate during the past five years is still the best in the country. In Aiken County, though, scores showed "considerable improvement," said Dr. Frank Roberson, the assistant superintendent of instruction for Aiken County public schools, although he would not release the results. "We are quite encouraged by the scores because this is validating the work that schools are doing," Dr. Roberson said. Associated Press reports were used in this story.
Reach Karen Ethridge at (803) 648-1395, ext. 109, or karen.ethridge@augustachronicle.com. Inez Tenenbaum:[CAPTION] Inez Tenenbaum blames the decline in test scores on budget cuts. SAT results South Carolina now ranks last in the nation for the average SAT score. Average South Carolina SAT scores:In 2003: 989In 2004: 986Source: South Carolina Department of Education
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