On the flip side, the Kannapolis System’s scores increased to 947 — an increase of 14 points, continuing its upward trend. Kannapolis students have increased their scores by 70 points since 1993.

And for the first time since 1991, the national SAT average took a one-point dip — from 1017 in 1998 to 1016 in 1999.

In North Carolina, the average continued its five-year climb up to 986, that’s compared to the 1995 average of 970.

But more Rowan-Salisbury students are taking the test, up from 49 to 52 percent of graduating seniors who took the test any time during their high school years. But the actual numbers of students taking the test declined from 520 to 466. Of the 466 Rowan-Salisbury students who took the SAT, 125 took the test at East; 49 at North; 91 at Salisbury; 102 at South Rowan; and 99 at West.

In Kannapolis, the same number of students are taking the test — 83, or 59.3 percent.

In the nation, 43 percent of high school grads took the SAT. In North Carolina, 61 percent of high school grads took the SAT.

The Scholastic Aptitude Test is the test most North Carolina colleges use to determine whether a student can attend. The highest score a student can achieve on the test is a 1600. That’s 800 points for each part, verbal and math.

Rowan-Salisbury students averaged 481 on the verbal portion of the test and 487 on the math for a total of 968. Kannapolis students averaged 480 on verbal and 467 for a total of 947.

Caution urged

Officials have always urged caution when looking SAT scores, including those in the Rowan-Salisbury district.

“The SAT is a measure of a student’s scholastic achievement, which is influenced as much or more so by the parent’s socioeconomic status and education level as it is by a school’s curriculum,” said Colby Cochran, Rowan-Salisbury’s director of assessment and accountability services.

The test is “an assessment designed to assist colleges to predict a student’s initial academic success in college,” Cochran said. But even then, “it is not even the single best predictor of a student’s success in college. ... It would be nice if people would see the SAT for what it is and nothing more.”

In the Kannapolis System, officials there have seen a 16-point increase in verbal scores while math scores bucked their six-year trend and dropped for the first time by two points.

With a 14-point increase, Superintendent Dr. Ed Tyson said, “Our staff have worked extremely hard at improving student achievement, and it is gratifying to see that their effort is paying off. However, our scores are not yet where we want them to be, and we know we must still get better.”

After-school help

In Rowan-Salisbury high schools, students had opportunities to receive after-school help with the test, said Matthew Sullivan, the system’s director of secondary education. High schools offered SAT classes and workshops and had SAT improvement software. “It’s there, and if they want to, they can take advantage of it.”

To make improvements on this year’s round of SAT tests, Rowan-Salisbury officials have invited an expert from Princeton, N.J., Larry Krieger, to show teachers how to help students.

In Kannapolis, officials attribute their increase to more students taking advanced courses. Students are exposed to higher level math and advanced literature in classes other than English and math. The high school’s Cyber Campus makes it easier for more students to take advanced courses from the North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics and from other schools around the state.

The A.L. Brown High also has offered voluntary classes on Saturdays to help students prepare for the SAT.

Among Rowan-Salisbury’s five high schools, South High stood out as the only one this year to increase its score — from 957 to 958. Both West and Salisbury high schools, even with their drops, scored higher than the state’s average — 999 and 997, respectively.