On the SAT College Entrance Examination, Blacks, on Average, Score Lower Than Every Other Major Ethnic Group in the United States

As reported earlier, 2009 results for the SAT show that the racial scoring gap between blacks and whites is the largest it has been in the past 20 years. The overall average score for black test takers declined slightly from 2008 to 2009 and remains 17 percent below the average white score.

Not only are African-American scores on the SAT far below the scores of whites, but they also trail the scores of every other major ethnic group in the United States including students of Puerto Rican and Mexican backgrounds. In fact, few people realize that American Indian and Alaska Native students on average score 124 points, or 10 percent, higher than the average score of African-American students. Mexican-American students score 61 points, or 5 percent, higher than blacks. On average, Asian-American students score 248 points, or 21 percent, higher than African Americans.

Copyright © 2009. The Journal of Blacks in Higher Education. All rights reserved.