The average SAT score for North Carolina high school students has dropped below 1,000.
The average combined critical reading and math score of 997 is down four points from last year. Results are based off of more than 63,000 students who took the standardized test. The Department of Public Instruction said that average scores on both of those sections as well as the writing component dropped by two points.
Average critical reading scores fell to 491, math scores dropped to 506 and writing to 472. Each section has a maximum score of 800. At the same time there was an increase in the number of students taking Advanced Placement, A.P., exams and an increase in the number of students scoring high enough to earn college credit.