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BY JEFF BRANSCOME
Three public high schools in the Fredericksburg region bested statewide averages on the SAT college-entrance test this year, according to data released this week by the College Board.
Students at Colonial Forge High School in Stafford County, James Monroe High School in Fredericksburg
Virginia students' overall performance on the SAT's reading and writing sections was above the national average. However, the state scored three fewer points in math than the country as a whole.
Stafford High School and Quantico High School were the region's only other public schools to exceed the national average, but neither beat statewide average scores.
Fredericksburg Academy, a private school in Spotsylvania County, boasted the best average SAT scores in the area by far. Fredericksburg Christian Upper School earned the second-best scores.
Locally, 3,846 students in the region's 23 public and the two largest private high schools took the SAT, according to the College Board, which administers the exam.
In Virginia, 59,612 test-takers who took the exam through March 2009 had an average score of 511 in reading, 512 in math and 498 in writing. National averages were 501 in reading, 515 in math and 493 in writing.
According to the College Board, Stafford County's school system had 1,309 test-takers, which is the most of any division in the area. Spotsylvania County had 901 students take the SAT.
Average SAT scores for Spotsylvania's school division as a whole decreased this year.
However, Supervisor of Guidance Judy Ladd pointed out some positives, including an increase in the number of black students who took the SAT--up from 138 in 2008 to 165 this year.
"It means that the tests are becoming more accessible overall," she said.
Spotsylvania offers a semester-long SAT prep course and other help on the exam, Ladd said.
The city's James Monroe High School improved in all three testing categories. Denny Keffer, the Fredericksburg school system's director of testing, said he didn't know the exact reason for the scores, but offered a simple explanation.
"Being a small system, sometimes we get to know the kids a little better," he said.
Jeff Branscome: 540/374-5402
Email: jbranscome@freelancestar.com