Local students across Central and Southside Virginia are once again gearing up to take the SAT’s at the beginning of their senior year. Traditionally, these tests have been globally recognized as a tool for college admissions.

A Sept. 3 press 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.”

Nonetheless, how did local students measure up to statewide statistics?

Scores reviewed included the localities of Prince Edward, Charlotte, Lunenburg, Cumberland and Buckingham. The average SAT score is 1500, and students in Charlotte County led the way 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 students participated in the 2015 SATs from Charlotte County.

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. Cumberland topped Buckingham in critical reading with a mean of 447, but fell behind in math with a mean of 432 and writing with a 428.

Although Lunenburg County Public Schools only had a total of 47 test takers for the 2015 SAT, mean scores of 448 in critical reading and 436 in writing were amongst the second highest in the reviewed counties. However, Lunenburg students fell slightly behind in math with a mean of 427. Finally, Prince Edward County students came in with a 411 mean critical reading score, a 402 math mean score and 401 writing mean. There were a total of 95 test takers participating — the greatest amount of the reviewed counties.

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.

Additionally, Prince Edward County students held the highest mean score in the VDOE’s Region 8 for the PSAT’s.