Prince Edward County High School’s SAT scores from last year ranked as some of the lowest in the area.

The average SAT score is 1500 nationally and 1523 across the state, and students in Prince Edward County students missed the mark, having significantly lower scores than every other school in the Virginia Department of Education’s (VDOE) Region 8 (Southside) with the exception of Brunswick County Public Schools.

With a 411 mean critical reading score, a 402 math mean score and 401 writing mean, the average SAT score only totaled to about 1214. There were a total of 95 test takers participating in Prince Edward last year—the greatest number among counties The Herald reviewed.

Dr. David Smith, superintendent of Prince Edward County Public Schools, explained that Prince Edward encourages as many students as possible to take the SATs.

Currently, SAT prep classes are being offered after school and on Saturdays. “We’re always looking for a method that gets the greatest response. …” Smith said.

He said the the division’s having the highest mean score in the VDOE’s Region 8 for the PSAT is a good indication of improvement in the future.

A recent release from the Virginia Department of Education (VDOE) explained, “The College Board, which publishes the SAT, reported today that the average scores for public school graduates in the commonwealth rose by one point in mathematics, by two points in writing and held steady in reading. Nationwide, achievement declined in all three subjects on the SAT.”

The VDOE said that Virginia’s public school mean score in reading was 515, 513 in math and 495 in writing.

Scores reviewed included the localities of Prince Edward, Charlotte, Lunenburg, Cumberland and Buckingham.

On the other end of the performance spectrum, students in Charlotte County led the way of the reviewed localities with an impressive mean score of 453 in critical reading, 446 in math and 438 in writing. “This is very exciting news,” said Charlotte County Public Schools Superintendent Nancy Leonard. “The Randolph-Henry team has worked so hard to increase the cognitive demand of their instruction and assessments. I am so proud of the students, teachers and administrators,” she said. A total of 88 Charlotte students participated in last year’s tests.

The counties of Buckingham and Cumberland both had an average of 75 test takers for the 2015 SATs. Buckingham students scored a mean of 445 in critical reading, 447 in math and 432 in writing. “Collectively understanding that we needed to offer more opportunity for our students, last year we began offering an intensive Princeton Review SAT preparation course for our students,” Buckingham’s Division Superintendent Dr. Cecil Snead said. “We had good participation in our inaugural year and anticipate increases each year for our students; thus, better positioning them for higher SAT scores that would be competitive for many four-year universities.”

Although Cumberland topped Buckingham in critical reading with a mean of 447, the lcality fell behind in math with a mean of 432 and writing with a 428. Dr. Amy Griffin, the superintendent of Cumberland County Public Schools, said “while scores are similar to scores of other schools in the region, the division has already taken steps to try to improve future performance on the test. All teachers are focusing on vocabulary development and a division-wide writing-across-the-curriculum program is being implemented … The division hopes to see an improvement in future scores.”

Although Lunenburg County Public Schools only had a total of 47 test takers for the SAT, mean scores of 448 in critical reading and 436 in writing were among the second highest in the area. However, Lunenburg students fell slightly behind in math with a mean of 427.