Fayette students, take a bow.

When results of the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) were released Tuesday, Fayette’s students posted an overall average score of 1551, three points above last year’s average, 85 points above that of the state and 40 points over the national average. A perfect SAT score is 2400.

Fayette ranked third in the state for systems that had at least 1,000 students take the test, said school spokesperson Melinda Berry-Dreisbach.

“We are very pleased with how our students performed on the SAT and are proud of the hard work ... put into raising our overall average from last year. Once again Fayette’s score is soaring above both the state and national average. While Fayette’s scores are high, there is room for improvement. We will continue to work toward raising our scores by researching methodologies and measures that will help all of our students perform at their personal best,” said Superintendent John DeCotis.

The breakdown of Fayette’s scores is as follows: 518 in critical reading, 528 in mathematics and 505 in writing. Fayette outscored both the state and the nation in all test sections.

The county’s score is 27 points above the state and 16 points above the nation in critical reading; 35 above the state and 13 above the nation in mathematics; and 23 above the state and 11 above the nation in writing.

A total of 1,394 high school graduates took the SAT in Fayette.

McIntosh had the system’s highest average with a 1639, followed by Starr’s Mill’s 1601 average. Whitewater students had a 1497 total, while Sandy Creek scored a 1484 average. Fayette County High students scored a 1461 average.