The average PSAT score for Anne Arundel County Public Schools students rose 14 points this year to 978 out 1520 points — putting the district above the state, national and global averages for students who took the test this spring, according to data from the College Board.
“That is exactly the kind of growth that we want to see and exactly why we must continue to fund these opportunities for all of our students,” Superintendent Mark Bedell said in a release.
In 2024, Maryland’s overall average score was 920. Anne Arundel voluntarily released 2025 data this week in an effort to increase transparency. Other counties in Maryland do not release similar data.
Bedell credited the district’s “pipeline of preparation,” which allows students to take PSAT assessments — essentially practice tests — multiple times at no cost before sitting for the SAT, as a key factor in the increase.
“These scores are proof that our work is paying off,” Bedell said. “They have come about through the hard work of our students, families and staff at all levels, and also through a pipeline of preparation we have consciously put in place to open the doors of opportunity for students.”
All students in grades nine through 11 can take a version of the PSAT free during the school day each fall, and 11th-grade students are offered the SAT at no cost during the school day.
Anne Arundel students make up a large portion of Maryland’s PSAT test-takers. Nearly one-third of all public school students in the state who took the “PSAT 8/9,” the version of the test given to grade eight and nine, and more than 84% of those who took the “PSAT 10,” the version of the test given to grade 10, were from Anne Arundel County.
“I believe we are one of potentially a few school districts in Maryland going to these lengths to provide these assessments for students beginning in grade nine, and we are only beginning to scratch the surface as we prepare students for what comes after graduation,” Bedell said.
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