- The mean SAT reading score was 496 out of a possible 800, a 40-year low; math scores were flat at 514. Writing came in at 488, down 9 points since 2006 and the lowest since writing was added to the SAT.
- 57% of those taking the SATs did not achieve a combined score of 1550 out of 2400, the level at which a student is deemed college-ready.
- 1.66 million students took the SATs, 27% of whom were from low-income families. 28% said English was not their first language, and 33% were from families where neither parent had attended college.
- 35% of U.S. 8th graders scored at the proficient or better level in math and 32% did so in science on the 2011 NAEP.
- For the 2011-12 school year, schools need 81% of students to be proficient in reading and 78% proficient in math in order to meet AYP. This school year, the numbers have to be 92% proficient in reading and 89% in math.