Fulton County students scored

their highest SAT scores ever last spring. The scores were released this

week and showed a six-point overall gain over 2001, marking the eighth

consecutive year that Fulton's scores have increased.

Fulton students scored a combined

verbal and mathematics score of 1039, with the mathematics score rising

six points to 528 and the verbal score of 511 remaining the same.

"We are pleased to see

the progress that our students and teachers have made with these scores,"

said Barbara Hill, Associate Superintendent for the Fulton County School

System. "The SAT requires long-term preparation and is not a test

that many students can just take and then immediately perform well. It

reflects continuous learning over a period of time, and we view these

improved results as an indicator of how well our middle school and high

school curriculums are fitting together."

Despite Fulton County's rising

scores, the state ranked 50th of all states' scores, only surpassing Washington

D.C.

The Class of 2002 bettered

the state SAT mean score (980) by 59 points, the ninth consecutive year

they have surpassed the state mark.

Fulton seniors recorded an

SAT mean score of 1039, 19 points higher than the national score (1020).

Creekside High School, with

a 38-point increase, reported the highest score increase among south Fulton

schools.

Creekside's scores were 431

for the verbal portion and 444 on math for a composite 875.

A record 3,192 seniors ­

or 88 percent of the 2002 graduates ­ took the SAT as compared to

the national average of 46 percent and the Georgia average of 65 percent.

Five high schools had increases

in both verbal and math scores ­ Centennial, Creekside, North Springs,

Riverwood, and Tri-Cities.