Coweta County

students scored higher on this year's Scholastic Aptitude Test, but are

still lagging behind neighboring counties.

In scores released

this week, all three high schools upped their marks from last year.

Newnan High

School had the highest average composite score in the county with a 1037.

Students at Coweta's oldest high school scored 519 on the verbal portion

and 518 on math. Newnan's score jumped 32 points over last year's 1005.

Northgate's

students compiled a 995 composite. Students scored a 497 on the verbal

and 498 on math. Northgate's scores rose 43 points this year.

At East Coweta,

students scored a composite 993, by achieving a 495 on the verbal portion

and 498 on math. East Coweta's score rose 11 points.

Overall, the

system's preliminary score is 1009, which is nearly 30 points better than

last year's 981.

The county

surpassed the state's average score of 980, but was slightly below the

national average of 1020.

Neighboring

Fayette County's average score was 1048.

Georgia fell

to 50th in the nation in SAT performance this year, the lowest performing

state in the country. Only the District of Columbia saw lower scores.