But despite district-wide efforts to implement 50-cent words into English classes and offer afterschool SAT prep courses, the average SAT score fell at least 14 points last year to an average score of 969, according to a report released this week by Durham Public Schools. Fewer high school seniors took the exam last year, as well, with participation dropping from 73 percent to 68 percent.

The average score for high school seniors across the state was 1,007 on a 1,600-point scale, a three-point increase from the previous year, and nationally, students averaged a score of 1,017.

Scores rose in all Triangle school districts except for Durham and the Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools, where the students' average dropped six points to 1,179, still the highest of any of the state's 115 school districts.

The decrease in Durham is the biggest change the district has seen in years, said Chris Bennett, Durham's assistant superintendent of secondary curriculum and instruction.

"It was surprising, but we're going to review the data and see where we didn't make gains, and we're going to address those," Bennett said.

Among ethnic groups, scores fell the most for Hispanic seniors -- a drop of 57 points from the previous year.

The district also plans to bolster some of its current efforts, including ratcheting up the number of students taking honors and Advanced Placement courses, Bennett said.

From 2003 to 2007, the number of students in AP classes has increased by 25 percent. English teachers have been embedding SAT vocabulary into classes daily. All students have been given free access to an online SAT-preparation Web site with practice tests run by the College Board, Bennett said, and last year, nearly 300 high schoolers enrolled in SAT preparation courses offered by the Durham schools.

Bennett and other administrators were pleased that some schools increased their scores:

- Middle College High School at Durham Technical Community College reported a 65-point increase, from 1,023 to 1,088; Jordan High School's average rose nine points, from 1,060 to 1,069; and Hillside High School's average rose five points, from 849 to 854.

OTHER HIGHLIGHTS:

- Scores for black seniors dropped six points from 858 to 852. The score matches the state average for black seniors.

- Scores for white seniors dropped 14 points from the previous year. White students in Durham earned an average of 1,106, higher than the state average of 1,062 and the national average of 1,065 for white students.

- Hispanic seniors in Durham had an average score of 928, above the national average of 914, but below the state average of 962.

(The state Department of Public Instruction reported the average score for Durham as 967, while the Durham Public Schools reported the average as 969. Both state and Durham officials say they retrieved the data directly from the College Board, the organization that administers the exam, and both stand by their calculations. A College Board representative said he could not determine where the discrepancy occurred.)