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Although results on the SAT college entrance exam dropped slightly in Frederick County and held steady in Carroll County, seniors in both school systems have again scored noticeably higher than state and national averages.

According to results released by the Educational Testing Service on Tuesday, the average total SAT score in Frederick County dipped by 9 points, from 1,548 in 2007 to 1,539 for the class of 2008.

In Frederick County average scores for critical reading, math and writing also dropped by 4, 3, and 2 points, respectively.

However, seniors scored at least 9 points above the state average and at least 7 points above the national averages for each of these areas.

In total scores, the 1,887 Frederick county seniors who took the SAT in 2008 scored 41 points above the statewide test average and 48 points above the national test average.

This year, participation in the SAT dropped in both Frederick and Carroll counties. While 62 percent of seniors in Carroll and Frederick counties took the test in 2007, 60 percent of seniors in each of the two counties took the test in 2008.

The perfect SAT score is 2,400, or 800 points in each of the three tested categories. The SAT is the nation's most widely administered standardized college admissions test. Because it is an elective, test results do not reflect performance of students systemwide.

School system officials, who often look at SAT scores as one of the criteria for assessing district and school performance, were pleased with the results this year.

In Frederick County officials also said they were happy with the results, despite the slight drops from last year.

Deborah Gilmartin, coordinator for testing and accountability, said the tests placed the school system high up in the state and in the nation.

"We always have to goal to get our scores higher," she said.

The SAT results are not a single indicator of student success and because of that can be overinterpreted, she said. SAT results tend to fluctuate because they test a much smaller group of students, than, for instance, the High School Assessments, Gilmartin said.

That is why SAT results present a less unified picture when broken down to individual schools, she said.

This year, Gov. Thomas Johnson, Linganore and Middletown high school seniors scored higher in all test categories, compared to 2007. However, SAT scores at Brunswick, Tuscarora, Urbana and Walkersville high schools were lower than last year.