News In Brief
By Josh Goodman | August 29, 2002SAT Math averages up two points to 32-year high National SAT scores rose this year on the math section but fell on the verbal section, causing total scores to remain steady. The average annual score on the exam, which many colleges use to evaluate applicants, was 1020 out of a possible 1600. The national average on the math section rose two points to a 32-year high of 516 out of 800. This year the average on the verbal section dipped to a six-year low of 504. In the past decade, math scores rose 15 points and verbal scores rose four points nationally. This year, Virginia students averaged a score of 1016 on the exam, a five-point increase over the previous year. Educators, including University of California President Richard Atkinson, are in the process of looking at alternatives to the SAT. To improve accuracy, the College Board plans to add a writing section and more critical reading passages to the exam by 2005. City, County residents cut back on water usage Prompted by tough water restrictions, residents of Charlottesville and Albemarle County cut water usage by 10 percent over the weekend. Local officials said they are hopeful water usage could eventually be reduced by as much as 30 percent. The reductions in water consumption come on the heels of new water usage rules that went into effect last Friday. Local residents are forbidden from washing cars and watering lawns. First-time violators receive a warning, while second-time violators are slapped with a $500 fine. Despite the cutbacks by residents, water supplies in local reservoirs dropped by 2.3 percent over the weekend. -- Compiled by Josh Goodman
