Bend-La Pine students continued to outshine their competitors on the SAT, according to scores released Tuesday by the College Board. Average SAT scores for students in the district were better than those of students across Oregon and the nation.

The students were especially strong in math, the scores show.

The SAT, which measures math and verbal ability, is used by some colleges and universities in the admissions process.

According to the College Board, which runs the test, 48 percent of this year’s high school graduates took the test.

Nearly 80 percent of colleges and universities that don’t have open admission policies use the SAT scores.

About 50 percent of Bend-La Pine seniors take the SAT.

Local teachers attribute students’ high math scores in part to schools’ focus on the subject.

”I think math is an important part of schools and I think it’s recognized by the students and the parents,” said Dave Clark, a teacher of upper level math classes at Summit High.

Summit, like all the Bend-La Pine high schools, saw its average math score increase from 2002-03 to 2003-04. The national average declined by one point.

This is the seventh consecutive year that Bend-La Pine students have outperformed their counterparts on both the math and verbal sections when compared with the national average. That national average has grown minutely.

Other explanations for the high math scores across the district could include the yearlong upper-level math classes available at some schools, Bend-La Pine teachers said. With yearlong classes, the students cover more material and have more time to absorb it, said Clark, the Summit teacher.

But culture may have something to do with students’ success, said Clain Campagna, a Mountain View math teacher.

”Once you have that high expectation kids kind of respond to it,” he said.

Strong teaching by Mountain View staff and SAT prep courses may also play a role, he said.

La Pine students’ average scores rose steeply on both the math and verbal sections, but the actual number who took the test declined dramatically, according to Bob Olsen, the district’s director of assessment and research. The number of students who took the test over the past several years was not available Tuesday night.

Other districts have continued to see increases in their scores as well. At Madras High, students’ average scores are significantly higher now than they were five years ago, according to Kathy Bishop, the district’s curriculum director.

One reason may be that the district has developed more opportunities for students to take advanced classes at the high school and through Central Oregon Community College.

One significant decline in scores was at Redmond High. After scoring 521 on average on the verbal section in 2002-03, students scored 492 this past school year. Average math scores also decreased from 529 in 2002-03 to 506 in 2003-04. About 30 percent of Redmond High seniors took the SAT in the 2003-04 school year.

Keith Hanson, director of curriculum and instruction in Redmond, said he was puzzled by the drop in scores.

”I’m at a loss to make any kind of rational statement as to why our scores took such a significant drop from where they have historically been,” he said.

If this is the beginning of a trend, then the district might want to seriously look at it, Hanson said. But this data reflecting one class of students doesn’t necessarily mean its program is amiss, he said.

”You can’t make a blanket statement,” Hanson said.

Julia Lyon can be reached at 541-617-7831 or at jlyon@bendbulletin.com.