The average math score on the SAT rose two points (to 516) this year, while the average verbal score dropped two points to 504, according to figures released this week by the College Board. Math scores have gradually gone up 15 points over the past decade, a trend that Gaston Caperton, the College Board's president, thinks might be caused by an increase in students taking challenging math courses in high school. (It's not clear what caused the verbal score to sag, though a plausible hypothesis might be kids not reading much.) "SAT math scores reach 32-year high," by Nancy Trejos, The Washington Post, August 27, 2002
