Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School students continue to perform well on the SATs, posting scores higher than state and national averages in all three subsets of the test this year.

“We had a very solid year with testing,” guidance director Michael McCarthy told the regional high school district committee Monday evening.

The test, which is required for entrance to most colleges, is broken into three subsets: critical reading, math and writing, with each test scored on an 800-point scale.

At the regional high school, 127 of 153 graduates in the class of 2014 took the SATs.

In each subject, students outperformed their peers. The mean average in critical reading was 533, compared with 516 statewide and 497 nationwide. The average score for math was also 533, compared with 531 statewide and 513 nationwide. Students also outperformed their peers in writing with an average mean score of 518, nine points higher than the state and 31 points higher than the national mean score.

“Obviously our kids did very well above the national and state means,” Mr. McCarthy said.

The combined scores in all three subsets are the third highest in school history, behind 2009 and 2013, Mr. McCarthy said.

“Last year’s class had the highest mean score and this class backed in right behind them. It dropped a little bit, but off of the highest score we’ve ever had,” the guidance director said. He said students are taking the SATs an average of three times.

Among the students who took the SATs, 79 per cent went on to post-secondary education, 69 per cent attending a four-year college.

Mr. McCarthy said the class of 2014 was quite diverse when it came to post-graduate choices. “What I like is kids are going to all types of schools, heading to technical schools, to specialty schools, to community colleges, to four-year colleges,” he said.

And some aren’t heading anywhere, at least not yet.

Students who elect to take a year off to travel or work, or defer a college acceptance for one year, known as a gap year, are not factored into the college percentages. Two per cent of last year’s graduating class fell into this “other” category, a trend that Mr. McCarthy said appears to be on the rise.

“I want all kids to be ready for college if that’s their goal, or even if that’s not their goal,” he said.

Committee member Dan Cabot agreed. “It’s amazing how many kids decide not to go to college and a couple years later say, wait a minute, I would like to go,” he said.

Mr. McCarthy also shared data released by the College Board for the Advanced Placement (AP) exams. A total of 88 regional high school students took 137 AP exams during the last school year. Students must score a three or better in the AP subject tests to qualify for class credit at most four-year colleges. Students achieved high performance status in the English language and composition test, with only one of the 15 tests taken obtaining a score below three.

On a different topic of testing, school principal Gilbert Traverso spoke briefly about the state MCAS results for the high school, which found the school needing improvement in some areas. The high school remains a level two school for the third year in a row. “We did drop from 2013 to 2014,” Mr. Traverso said.

He provided the committee with a detailed list of MCAS interventions planned for this year. They include making sure the necessary services

are made available to obtain passing grades for all students in English, mathematics and biology. He added that the school is in the process of a transition to a new set of standards. Mr. Traverso also said that although the school’s MCAS scores show room for improvement within the school, the regional high school exceeded state targets for growth.