<p>How useful is it to know the average SAT scores at some schools? I’m thinking specifically of those that are bimodal like ours, where children of MIT and Harvard profs attend together with children of low SES, recent immigrants with limited English. Another factor is the rate of SAT participation. According to our superintendent, there is a far higher rate of participation among the bottom quarter than at other schools (of course, this begs the question of how low is the bottom quarter). Again according to him, this lowers the average SAT scores for the school.
This is a school with SAT scores that are below the national average; it has a n 80% graduation rate (in other words, 20% do not pass the high stakes 10th grade exit test). It also sends a significant number of students to the most selective schools in the country. SAT scores would not reveal that.</p>