On Tuesday, the Montezuma-Cortez High School daily announcements provided details for the upcoming Scholastic Assessment Test, which will be the last “paper and pencil” version of the test administered at the school. SATs will be fully digital in January.

Registration for the test ends Nov. 2, and tests are Dec. 2.

The SAT, which was started in 1926, is a standardized test that is used for college admissions. Students who take the exam are scored in mathematics, critical reading and writing with an optional essay section. It is owned by the College Board.

The test takes three hours to complete, with an additional 50 minutes for students who take the essay.

According to updated data released in the spring of 2023, Colorado ranks 40 out of 51 states (the District of Columbia is added as a separate entity) with an average total score of 1,021 out of 1,600. That average score is 29 points behind the U.S. average.

The data shows that 84% of Colorado students take the SAT.

In Montezuma County, 11 graders had a mean SAT score of 876 at Montezuma-Cortez High School, 884 at Dolores High School and 912 at Mancos High School, according to the Colorado Department of Education.

The No. 1 state is Wisconsin with an average score of 1,252, and only 2% of their students take the SAT.

The top 10 states for SAT scores are Wisconsin, Wyoming, Kansas, Utah, Mississippi, Minnesota, Nebraska, Kentucky, South Dakota and North Dakota.

The 10 states with the lowest scores are West Virginia, Oklahoma, Delaware, Idaho, Rhode Island, New Mexico, Illinois, Florida, the District of Columbia and Michigan. West Virginia, which has the lowest average score in the nation, shows a 2023 average test score of 938.

To help students prepare for the new, fully digital version of the SAT, PSAT’s are now being offered in a digital format.