The average SAT scores for South Carolina’s graduating seniors are down - falling this year in all three test sections for a nine-point drop. The College Board reported Tuesday the state’s class of 2009 scored a combined average of 1,452. That’s 59 points below the national average, which saw a two-point decline from last year to 1,509.

Georgia high school students performed worse on the SAT college-entrance exam than their predecessors for the third year in a row. According to data released Tuesday by the test’s administrators, The College Board, Georgia’s mean score on the test is 1,460 this year, a six-point drop since last year. That’s compared to the national mean score of 1,509.

The state Board of Education has approved unanimously a plan to toss out scores for standardized tests at four elementary schools where cheating was discovered.

Police say a suburban Atlanta principal and his assistant principal have been arrested in connection with an investigation into whether student test scores were altered to improve school performance. Former Atherton Elementary principal James Berry was arrested at home Friday. Assistant principal Doretha Alexander turned herself in to police Thursday night and was later released on bond.