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Published: Tuesday, Sep. 25, 2012 / Updated: Monday, Sep. 24, 2012 11:45 PM

SATs: Fort Mill, Nation Ford top national average

Seniors in the 2012 graduating class at Fort Mill and Nation Ford high schools topped the national average score on the SAT college-readiness exam.

Clover High and Rock Hill High students bested the statewide average score.

Those are among the results in the latest SAT report, which the non-profit College Board released Monday for schools and districts across South Carolina.

The SAT is the most widely used college entrance exam. The test, which includes a writing, reading and math portion, has a maximum possible score of 2,400.

The College Board considers 1,550 a benchmark for indicating college success. College-bound students often take the SAT more than once to improve their scores.

Although educators encourage students to take a college-readiness exam such as the SAT or ACT, it’s up to teens to decide whether to do it.

The share of students who took the exam varied among campuses last school year. For instance, 15 percent of Chester High’s 195 seniors in the class of 2012 took it, while 76 percent of Indian Land High seniors were tested.

In its annual report, the College Board uses the last score of each graduating senior. The report includes the mean score for the three subjects tested and the average of those for each school.

Here’s a look at how students performed in York, Chester and Lancaster counties:

•  Fort Mill High had the highest the highest overall average score – 1,591 – of the three counties, topping Nation Ford High, which had the highest score last year.

• With an overall average score of 1,472, Clover High topped the state average for all students of 1,431 and was just shy of matching the national average for public school students of 1,477.

•  Indian Land and Fort Mill High had the largest share of test-takers. Seventy-six percent of Indian Land seniors took the SAT; 75 percent of Fort Mill High seniors took it. Nation Ford followed with 70 percent of seniors.

•  Lewisville High saw the biggest drop in overall average score, 105 points.

•  South Pointe High has seen a steady increase in students taking the SAT. The school went from 48 percent of seniors taking the test in 2010 to 63 percent last school year.