The S.C. Governor’s School for Science and Mathematics (GSSM) had the highest ACT and SAT score averages among the Palmetto State’s 2010 graduates, according to recently released reports from the S.C. Department of Education.

GSSM’s graduates, now enrolled in their first year of studies at colleges and universities across South Carolina and the nation, scored an average of 30.2 on the ACT’s 36-point exam and 2020 out of a possible 2400 on the SAT.

The ACT is a curriculum-based achievement exam designed to measure the academic skills that are taught in schools and deemed important for success in first-year college courses. The SAT is an implied learning test that measures how students think based on their experiences both in and out of the classroom setting.

The 2010 average composite scores for all Palmetto State seniors (including private and home school students) was 20.0 on the ACT and 1443 on the SAT.

“The outstanding achievement of the Governor’s School students is a great tribute to them and to their families,” said Dr. Murray Brockman, GSSM president. “When significant talent is combined with a commitment to hard work, great things always happen!”

The newly released scores are those of the students who graduated in 2010, regardless of when they took the test during their high school careers, and include the ACT’s four tests: English, mathematics, reading and science reasoning; or the SAT’s critical reading, math and writing tests. Scores are reported in each of those as well as the overall composite.

GSSM is a public, residential high school for academically talented and motivated juniors and seniors. It offers college-level courses and a hands-on curriculum with a special focus on science, math, technology and research, along with new concentrations in economics and entrepreneurship.

The ACT is the predominant college entrance exam in about half of the states, while the College Board’s SAT dominates the other half. Although the SAT is still South Carolina’s most popular college-entrance exam, a record 17,342 public high school graduates took the ACT for 2010, up from 12,159 in 2006, according to the S.C. Department of Education.

Of GSSM’s 60 students who graduated in May, more than half are attending South Carolina colleges and universities this fall. Notable out-of-state schools attended by GSSM graduates of 2010 include Yale, Emory, Georgetown, Drexel, Brown and Wellesley.

In 2010, GSSM also led Palmetto State high schools with the largest number of National Merit Semifinalists.