MACON, Ga. — Some high school students are hitting the books more than normal preparing for the SAT.
According to the Georgia Department of Education, Georgia public school students have scored higher on the SAT than the nation's public schools. For the Houston County School District in particular, students' SAT scores have outperformed the state and national averages.
The pressure is on for some high school seniors. College applications, graduation, but first it starts with the SATs.
Veterans High School senior Zachariah Hickey says he started early with practice tests.
"It was just like a challenge to get my score higher each time," Hickey said. "The PSAT here is really good because you can take it when you're a freshman. I took one when I was a freshman, I enjoyed it, and I thought it was like a good introductory just to be in that testing realm."
Veterans High School senior Joshua Carter mentioned that even though some schools have waived SAT and ACT scores over the past few years, students still want to showcase their best selves.
"The SAT is very important," Carter said. "I have dreams of where I want to be and if I want to get to them, I have to get into a good college with a good score."
When it comes to their teachers and mentors, they want to see their students succeed.
Veterans High School AP Literature and Dual Enrollment Instructor Megan Jones is dedicated to teaching her students life lessons like dealing with academic pressures and social stress.
"You're teaching life skills, you're teaching the ability to communicate, to market yourself," Jones said."They recognize the competitiveness of college applications and what schools are looking for in terms of academic rigor and the way you can demonstrate that through not only the courses you take in high school but also your performance on the SAT and ACT."
The average SAT score in Houston County was 1051 while the average SAT score for Georgia as a state was 1045.
The strongest subjects were evidence-based reading and writing and math.