As we all can imagine, comparing SATs at this level of education is splitting hairs - what I am struck by is how A/E are both campuses of plus 1,000 kids and they have the highest averages. The statistical significance/power to have such large student bodies performing so well is notable. And before anyone says it - yes I agree that SAT is a quantitative number, not qualitative.
Given that A/E entering students have among, if not the highest, SSAT scores of all boarding schools it does not strike me as remarkable that they would have the highest SAT scores as well. That puts their averages at 98th percentile. I believe that I’ve seen their SSAT average at about the 93rd percentile which makes sense since those taking the SSAT represent an over-all academically higher achieving group than the general college bound population. Harder to stand out from your peers, test-wise, in that rarefied group.
It also could mean that they give more weight to SSAT scores than other schools? I know Thacher turns away a lot of kids with 99th percentile scores each year because they just aren’t the right “fit” for the Thacher community. (It is a small school, so a single bad “egg” can have an outsized impact on morale and wellbeing. It also has requirements – horse care, two big camping trips each year – that are not for the faint of heart.)