While the nation's SAT scores remained stagnant, most of the county's public high schools made progress.
The Class of 2008 at 10 schools earned higher reading scores than their predecessors, and nine bettered their writing scores.
Five lost ground in reading and five in writing, but by 10 points or fewer. Two schools' writing scores were unchanged.
In math, 11 local schools improved their 2007 results. Five dropped, but by six points or fewer.
Garden Spot High in Eastern Lancaster County elevated its SAT scores more than any other — 85 points in all three test areas.
Each class is different, Principal Carol Kelsell said. Still, "it's exciting."
Looking at the scores from the county's 16 public high schools, Manheim Township tops the list in reading with 549, in math with 567 and in writing with 533.
Credit the partnerships among teachers, students, parents and staff, Superintendent Gene Freeman said.
"Everybody puts effort toward a singular goal, and you come out with outstanding scores," he said.
Countywide, the average comes to 508 for reading, 518 for math and 491 for writing. That's an increase from 2007 of seven points in reading, eight in math and seven in writing.
The high schools with the top combined reading, math and writing SAT scores are Manheim Township, Warwick, Garden Spot, Hempfield and Lampeter-Strasburg, respectively.
Garden Spot and Hempfield tied at 1,568.
Nationwide, the mean scores for college-bound seniors in reading, math and writing were the same as the Class of 2007: 502, 515 and 494, according to results released Tuesday by the College Board, the nonprofit firm that owns the SAT.
Pennsylvania's mean scores rose, but little: one point in reading to 494, two points in math to 501 and one point in writing to 483.
The College Board says the stalled scores stem from a larger and more diverse group of students taking the test.
The SAT has long been the most prominent test on the East Coast for high school graduates who are college bound. Many colleges consider SAT scores for admission.
The test has three sections — reading, math and writing — each worth 800 points.
This year, standing next to Manheim Township with high scores in reading are Warwick and Garden Spot, respectively.
For math, the second- and third-highest scores come from Hempfield and Lampeter-Strasburg.
Writing put Warwick at No. 2 and Ephrata at No. 3.
Breaking down the results for Garden Spot, scores in reading rose by 30 points, in math by 31 points and in writing by 24 points.
Principal Kelsell can't point to any specific reason for the jump.
Last year, the high school did revamp its SAT prep class.
"I think that helped," she said.
While its leap was not as high as Garden Spot's, Pequea Valley High School, which also offers SAT tutoring, also advanced its scores from 2007: 13 in reading, 11 in math and 17 in writing.
"It's just the beginning," Principal Jason Marin said. "We are going to continue to improve."
This school year, Pequea Valley launched an SAT prep class, a half-credit elective. Half of the time, students hone reading skills, and the other half, they dedicate to math.
Penn Manor High School's scores did not climb as high as Garden Spot's either but Principal Jan Mindish sees promise in the numbers. The school's scores rose four points in reading, three points in math and seven points in writing.
"We've always had very flat scores," she said. "This isn't a huge increase, but it's an increase in all three areas.
"I think it can be attributed to students pushing themselves in higher-level courses."
Penn Manor also has a large number of students taking dual enrollment classes, where they earn college credit while in high school.
And, this school year is the fourth year that the district is providing students opportunities to take the PSAT, the preliminary test.
"When they don't do well, they realize they need to get more courses under their belts," Mindish said.
Staff writer Robyn Meadows can be reached at rmeadows@LNPnews.com or 481-6025.
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