Is our county beginning to reap what it has sown in its approach to education? Witness the average drop of six points in SAT scores at our county high schools, with even higher drops at McIntosh and Sandy Creek only partially offset by increases at Fayette County High.

While a one-year dip in SAT scores doesn't constitute a trend, it's not something to be overlooked, either, because SAT scores serve as a barometer of educational proficiency. The question that should be asked is whether many of our students are falling short of their overall academic potential.

As a 15-year resident of Fayette County with one child in high school and a second in middle school, I am convinced test scores will not be improved by the continued emphasis on teaching to the test, encouraging students to take SAT classes, or paying for tenth graders to take the PSAT.

An SAT test is a four-hour snapshot of a student's learning experience. To help students improve not only their SAT scores but their overall preparation for higher education, teachers and administrators must focus on raising our county's academic standards.

That's already happening, you say. Look at the number of Fayette County students who weren't accepted at the University of Georgia this year because of more rigorous entrance standards. Look at the state requirement, implemented beginning with last year's freshman class, that they take four years of high school math.

By considering only Georgia's college entrance requirements, however, we miss the bigger picture. No matter what the college of their choice public or private, in-state or out college-bound students in this community should be encouraged to take the most rigorous courses they can manage. I'm not convinced that's happening.

During their transitions into middle and high school, our children and many of their peers were discouraged by some teachers and counselors from taking classes that were too demanding. In particular, rising freshmen were discouraged from taking four years of foreign language because these classes were "hard" and students would be given "a lot of homework."

Small wonder that, in an analysis of Georgia SAT scores, students who studied a foreign language for four years had a combined verbal and math average of 1,121. Those who studied English for four years the only four-year subject required of all 1998 test-takers scored an average of 977.

Those numbers translate into tangible gains for students doing the "hard" work. Imagine how encouraging students on the college prep track to take four years of foreign language could improve their readiness for college.

This year, Cobb County is allowing students reading at grade level or above to study a foreign language in place of reading, beginning in eighth grade. Is Fayette County prepared to implement this type of innovation, which has occurred in many schools outside Georgia for three decades or more?

The topic of mathematics already is being roundly debated in this county. A comparison of math and science performance among top U.S. students and their peers in 40 other countries, released in February by the National Center for Education Statistics, lays much of the blame for our nation's low ranking to reliance on rote practice rather than applying concepts and other higher-level thinking skills. Simply switching textbooks will not solve this problem.

Beginning in elementary school, students also should be encouraged to work collaboratively in peer groups, not placed in a heterogenous hodge-podge that serves only to divide and conquer them. In this type of environment, high-achieving students would become more confident of their problem-solving abilities instead of looking for ways to "get off" the highest math track as they get older, and students who need additional help would receive the attention they need.

As parents, we must accept some blame for the mediocrity that exists in the system. As president of Fayette County Supporters of the Gifted for the past three years, I witnessed an incredible burst of enthusiasm for addressing these challenges followed by a slow slide into apathy.

This year, no one has stepped forward to lead our organization, so a small group of parents will return to the grass-roots networking and advocacy we began in the early 1990s. We firmly believe that issues that affect college-bound students trickle down through the entire curriculum to hinder every student from learning to his or her potential.

Some of the challenges we plan to address include:

* Formation of a consistent program for gifted elementary and middle school students throughout the county a recommendation of the Blue Ribbon Committee on Gifted Education adopted by the Fayette County Board of Education two years ago but still not implemented. Instead, each elementary and middle school continues to go its own way.

* Development of a consistent policy for the amount of regular classroom work gifted elementary students are required to make up when they attend enrichment classes. Some children identified as gifted in early grades are becoming discouraged by pull-outs because they are given extra assignments for the missed class time.

* Creation of Academic Booster Clubs at every middle school.

* Provision for flexibility in scheduling, such as an optional zero period, for high school students who take rigorous academic schedules while continuing to participate in band or chorus. Presently, students who study four years of a foreign language, four years of science, and four years of fine arts can apply to exempt speech a county graduation requirement but they are limited to taking keyboarding and other electives in summer school.

If others are interested in pursuing these goals, please e-mail Kim Gatlin at kgatlin13@aol.com, Pam Rourke at wrourke@compuserve.com or me at mpowers655@aol.com.

If you are unable to participate in a formal effort to raise our county's academic standards, please advocate for your own child at his or her school. Get to know the teachers. Attend open houses and PTO meetings. And make your voice heard at the ballot box on Nov. 3, when two new Board of Education members will be elected in county-wide races.

Our school system provides the opportunity for a solid education to students who step up to the plate. Unfortunately, many students become sidetracked for lack of encouragement at home or within the system. Students need to see from our interest that their education is a top priority.