Scotland County Schools may commission a study of SAT scores following a 43-point drop in 2009, a state report said.

The study, which reports the average SAT score of seniors that graduated in the Spring of 2009, said SAT scores dropped from 1,373 in 2008 to 1,330 in 2009.

Local scores dropped in all subject areas.

Math scores dropped from 481 to 467, critical reading scores dropped from 441 to 433 and writing scores dropped from 441 to 430.

Participation in testing also dropped from 57.7 percent of graduating seniors to 55.3.

Scotland County also performed below average for North Carolina school systems. The state's participation rate was 63 percent and the average score was 1486.

The SAT – Scholastic Aptitude Test –is the most widely used college entrance exam and tries to measure basic college-readiness skills. Each area is measured out of a possible 800 points with a maximum combined score of 2,400.

Dr. Susan Chase, associate superintendent for instructional services, emailed a brief release on the scores.

The release does not explain the drop in scores but does call for a study on improving SAT scores for the school system.

"Our participation rate is below North Carolina but above the nation. I am going to convene a study group to look at this data and talk about what we can do to improve. The state curriculum is going to be changing in all areas over the next 3-5 years in North Carolina and will be stressing the revised Bloom's Taxonomy, which provides higher levels of learning. I think that will help our overall performance in all areas."

Mary Evans, vice-chair of the Scotland County Board of Education, said she could not comment on the scores because she had yet to see the report.

She did note that it would not be easy to bring up the test scores with the large budget cuts the school system is faced with.

Superintendent Rick Stout could not be reached for comment.

State and regional scores

Several surrounding counties also saw movement in their 2009 SAT scores.

• Hoke County saw an increase of 36 points, with scores increasing from 1,235 to 1,271. Participation rates dropped 60.5 percent to 57.7.

• Moore County schools saw slight increases. The average score increased just four points to 1,532 while participation rates increased 1.7 points to 53.4 percent.

• Richmond County scores also fell nine points to 1,394 with participation rates dropping 6.9 points to 21.2 percent.

• Robeson County high school scores dropped 16 points to 1,282. Participation rates dropped from 38.7 percent to 37.2.

SAT scores across the state stayed mostly static in 2009 compared to last year.

North Carolinians who took the SAT in 2009 scored an average of 1,486, the same as the national average, on a 2,400-point scale. That compares to a state average of 1,489 in 2008.

Test-takers lost one point on critical reading and two points on writing in 2009; the average math score stayed the same.

Differences among ethnic groups remained large. Whites scored an average of 1,570 in 2009, compared to 1,263 by blacks.

There were more than 57,140 students taking the test in 2009, 705 more than a year earlier.