It’s a little weird. In the first head-to-head comparison between Davie High students and the Early College students taking the SAT, the students … tied. Dead even.
The N.C. Department of Public Instruction last week announced the SAT scores for schools across the state.
The combined average verbal and math score for both sets of Davie students was 1,031. Their verbal scores were an identical 508. The math scores were both 523. Only the relatively new writing test was different. Early College students scored a little better at 497; Davie High, 478.
Last year was the first time the Early College students were scored on the SAT. At Davie High, 170 took the test. At the Early College, 29 were tested.
For Davie High, the average score fell 33 points from the previous year’s high-water mark of 1,064. In 2009 the average was 1,037; in 2008, 1,034.
The county’s combined 1,031 score was higher than the neighboring counties: Davidson, 998; Forsyth, 999; Rowan, 969; Yadkin, 996, and Iredell, 1,026. The state average was 1,001. Nationally, the average was 1,011.
Scanning the results, we spotted eight county systems with higher SAT averages than ours: Buncombe, Carteret, Haywood, Henderson, Orange, Wake, Watauga and Yancey. Some of those counties are the homes of colleges and universities. Which leads to the obvious answer for boosting our scores: Lure a university here. Maybe Notre Dame would like to move south.

A Gentler Term:
‘Meddlers’ Instead
Of ‘Bullies’

Bullies? Extortionists? Our county commissioners? What unkind accusations by Wayne Webb of Farmington last week.
Just because the commissioners tried to force the Davie County Board of Education’s hand on Davie High’s future by threatening to reduce school funding. Just because the commissioners are now trying to take away land beside North Davie Middle School that was designated for a new high school. Just because some of the commissioners have been looking over …