In April 2024, the class of 2025 will be the first class to take the digital SAT, which now has shorter reading passages, and allows students to use calculators for the entire math section. However, despite the format changes, the test will be especially challenging for juniors not only as first-time SAT takers, but as Museum students who feel that the in-school SAT prep provided is not sufficient to cover the test material.
The digital SATs will still be scored on a 1600-point scale. According to Niche.com, a website that compares schools and colleges, Museum has an average SAT score of 1210,* which is considerably higher than the national average SAT score of 1050 for 2022 high school graduates.** However, as compared to other highly-rated District 2 schools, Museum’s average SAT score is not as competitive.
Even compared to its immediate neighbor, Museum’s scores do not quite measure up, as NYC Lab School for Collaborative Studies has an average SAT score of 1290. Similar District 2 schools fall within the same range: Baruch College Campus High School has an average SAT score of 1270, Millennium High School has an average of 1300, and Eleanor Roosevelt High School stands above with an average score of 1390. Only Stuyvesant High School, a specialized District 2 school, far exceeds its non-specialized counterparts with an average SAT score of 1500.
While seniors recently finished taking the SAT, juniors are preparing to spend the next few months studying for them. This year, Museum has an SAT instructor from I. Foster Learning (IFL), an organization that works with schools to help prepare students for standardized tests. Instructors from the tutoring service come in bi-weekly during College Institute to advise juniors on test-taking strategies and assign practice tests.
Even though Museum provides students with SAT prep, Museum students are still concerned with the prep being provided. Junior Abigail Nembhard said, “We don’t have enough time to practice because we need to prioritize it and we are given minimal time to prepare.”
Similarly, junior Jayannie Martinez believes that Museum’s SAT prep “Is only helpful if you’re actually doing the work, but it’s hard to do that because we have a lot of work from other classes.”
Junior Lola Louis said, “Many students may not feel as obligated to do the work because it’s not for a grade. Even though the prep is supposed to be twice a month, we really only get it once a month recently because of all the days off.” Furthermore, Louis said how “if it were an afterschool prep [course], more students would be willing to go.”
As someone who has taken the SATs, senior Finley Eisenberg did not find the SAT prep helpful, and mostly prepared for the test on her own. Eisenberg said, “The inconsistency of the prep periods, along with no one else taking them seriously, made it impossible to get any work done.” She stated that “self-studying periods would’ve been more impactful” for her test preparation.
While many students have said the SAT prep does not really prepare them for the test, junior Jaden Kwon said, “It’s pretty useful and gives me a good understanding of what it’s going to be like. It gives me insight of what the test is like as well as tips on how to answer questions quickly.”
*Average SAT composite score out of 1600, as reported by Niche users from the Museum school. Actual average SAT scores may vary.
