There is a direct correlation between income level and SAT scores nationally — results that matched locally with the new U.S. census findings, according to newly released data released from the College Board.

The overall SAT results were broken into 10 family-income blocks, beginning at less than $10,000. They increase in $10,000 increments to students with family income levels greater than $100,000. Students from families with less than a $10,000 income scored a mean of 429 in critical reading, which improved to 445 in the $10,000 to $20,000 income range. That score jumped in each of the next eight income groups, peaking at 549 with students from families earning more than $100,000. The same trend occurred in math: Students at the lowest-end income level had a mean score of 457, which crept to 465, 474, 488, 501 and then 509 in the $50,000-$60,000 range. The numbers kept improving to a mean score of 564 at the $100,000 and above level.

Typically, each $10,000 income increase corresponded to a 10- to 12-point gain in the mean score of each test section. The only significant variation was between students from families earning between $80,000 and $100,000 and those earning more than $100,000. In those categories, mean scores jumped 26, 30 and 29 points, respectively, in critical reading, math and writing.

Baltimore City’s mean scores were 383 in critical reading, 376 in math and 389 in writing versus 539, 559 and 538, respectively for Howard County. Baltimore County’s numbers were 497, 506 and 496 for reading, math and writing, respectively.

Those results correlated with the Baltimore-area school district median income numbers. Howard County, with the United States’ third-highest median income, at $91,184, scored higher than Anne Arundel with median income of $71,961, which scored higher than Harford at $65,343. The trend continued down to Baltimore County at $56,295, which scored higher than Baltimore City at $32,456.

rcassie@baltimoreexaminer.com