Lawrence high school students have surpassed the national average SAT scores, according to results being released today by the College Board.

The district’s average reading score was 580, compared with a national average of 502. Lawrence students also scored 580 on the math portion, compared with 515 nationally. Writing scores in Lawrence were 569, compared with 494 nationally.

Seventy-one students took the exam at Lawrence High School, along with 65 at Free State High School. That is far below the 547 students who took the ACT last year. Only 7 percent of Kansas high school students took the SAT in 2008.

Kansas students planning on attending college in-state are not required to take the SAT.

Overall, Free State had slightly better scores than LHS, scoring 594 on reading, versus 566 at LHS. Free State students scored 567 on math, while LHS students scored 592. Free State also had a better writing score: 580 compared with 558.

The district’s scores surpassed the state average in all areas but math, where the Kansas average, 589, was higher than the district score.

A perfect score is 800 on each portion of the exam.