SAT Scores Earn CB Spots in Top 20

All three Central Bucks School District high schools earned spots among the top 20 high schools in southeast Pennsylvania according to rankings released this week.

The rankings were based on average combined verbal, math and writing scores on the 2011 SAT tests.

The Philadelphia Business Journal ranked the top 40 high schools in southeast Pennsylvania based on those scores.

• Central Bucks South came in 19th, with an average combined score of 1613.
• Central Bucks West came in 13th, with an average combined score of 1647.
• Central Bucks East tied for 6th, along with New Hope-Solebury and Council Rock North, with an average combined score of 1687.

All three schools also increased their average scores in 2011 compared to the year before.

CB East's score increased 9 points from its 2010 score of 1678. CB West's increased 8 points from 1639 in 2010. CB South increased 7 points from 1606 in 2010.

CB East principal Abe Lucabaugh said he was pleased with his school's results.

"I am proud of our students and our faculty," Lucabaugh told Doylestown Patch on Thursday.

CB East students' high SAT scores are consistent with their results on other state assessments such as the PSSA, as well as Advanced Placement tests and National Merit qualifications, he said.

"Our students’ performance on the SAT exams continues to rise," Lucabaugh said, noting, "What makes these results particularly noteworthy is that 90 percent of CB East students take the SAT exam."

The numbers of Central Bucks students taking the SAT exams jumped appreciably between 2010 and 2011.

At CB East, 486 students took the test in 2011, up from 429 in 2010, an increase of 13 percent.

At CB South, 525 students took the test in 2011 and 436 in 2010, an increase of 20 percent.

And at CB West, 429 students took it in 2011 and 367 in 2010, an increase of 17 percent.

The top 20 schools in southeast Pennsylvania, according to this ranking, and their combined 2011 SAT scores are:

1. J.R. Masterman Laboratory and Demonstration High School, Philadelphia, 1898
2. Conestoga High School, Tredyffrin, 1755
3. Lower Merion High School, 1748
4. Radnor High School, 1720
5. Harriton High School, Lower Merion, 1717
6. 3 way tie - Council Rock North, Central Bucks East, New Hope-Solebury, 1687
9. Upper Dublin High School, Ft. Washington, 1678
10 Lower Moreland High School, 1668
11 Great Valley High School, Malvern, 1667
12 Central High School, Philadelphia, 1651
13 Central Bucks West, Doylestown, 1647
14 Wissahickon High School, Ambler, 1642
15. Downingtown High School East, Uwchlan, 1637
16. Council Rock South, Holland, 1627
17. Jenkintown Jr-Sr High School, 1626
18. Methacton High School, Eagleville, 1624
19. Central Bucks South High School, Warrington, 1613
20. B. Reed Henderson High School, West Chester, 1609

Other area schools that made the list include:

21. North Penn High School, Lansdale, 1608
27. Hatboro-Horsham High School, 1564
34. Pennridge High School, Perkasie, 1537
36. Pennsbury High School, Fairless Hills, 1536
39. Quakertown Community High School, 1522

For the complete list of the top 40 schools, visit the Philadelphia Business Journal's website.

Click here for SAT scores from 2001 through 2011 for all public schools in Pennsylvania from the state Department of Education.