Lexington County students are beating a national trend in test scores.

Nationally, less qualified students are taking the SAT college entrance test, driving scores down.

Some Lexington County SAT scores dropped with a greater percentage of high-school students not ready for college-level work, according to the College Board which administers the tests.

Nationally, a record 2.2 million 2019 graduates took the exam, up from 2018’s record of 2.1 million.

The increase comes from more districts offering students the test during the school day without cost.

These students are more likely to be minority, attend high-poverty public schools and have parents without college degrees.

In contrast, scores in District 1 in Lexington, Gilbert and Pelion were higher than national and state averages on nationwide assessments with a combined average score of 1067.

District 1 had 1,139 student test takers in 2019, 29.4% more than the 880 test takers in 2018.

The number of test takers in South Carolina rose by 27.9% while the nation only increased 3.7%.

With more test takers, the US, state and District 1 scores all dipped.

The College Board assessment includes Evidence-based Reading and Writing (ERW) and Math.

The latest SAT results come from seniors who graduated in 2019.

In District 1, students scored an average 541 on ERW and 521 on Math for a total score of 1067.

That was far higher than the state total of 1021 and the US total 1039.