COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) - South Carolina's average SAT scores climbed another 8 points this year - making the state the most-improved in the nation for the past five years, according to the national board that oversees the college-entrance tests.

The state Education Department said Tuesday that the state's average SAT scores were up to 989 in 2003, up from 981 in 2002.

South Carolina scores continue to lag the national average on the test that many colleges require for admission. National SAT scores rose six points to 1,026 in 2003.

"We're closing the gap between our state average and the national one," said state Superintendent of Education Inez Tenenbaum. "For years, that difference hovered around 60 points, but in the past five years we've narrowed it to 37 points."

Only Georgia seniors, who scored 984, tested lower than those in South Carolina. Texas had an average score of 993.

Several actions taken by the state since 1998 have kept South Carolina SAT scores on the rise, Tenenbaum said.

Making SAT scores a requirement for lottery-funded scholarships has kept the scores high, Tenenbaum said. The General Assembly also has made the PSAT, a preliminary test to SAT, more accessible by funding the test for all 10th graders, she said.

Many districts in the state, from urban to rural, have offered SAT preparation classes, hired SAT preparation consultants and incorporated SAT preparation into day-to-day classwork.

In Lee County, which improved more than any other district, students learn an SAT word-of-the-day each day. At Denmark-Olar High School in Bamberg 2, which improved scores by 66 points, students win prizes such as candy, dictionaries or gift certificates when they're able to quickly track down definitions to the school's word-of-the-week.

Making students more aware of the test is key to steadily increasing scores, said Lee County Superintendent Bill Townes.

"I think that in itself paid off," Townes said. "We've had tremendous gains over the years." The district scores lags the state average by 112 points.

Ten of the state's 85 districts tested above the national average: Barnwell 45, Dillon 3, Dorchester 2, Horry, Kershaw, Lexington 1, Lexington 5, Oconee, Spartanburg 6 and York 4. All of those districts except Kershaw and York 4 tested fewer students in 2003 than in 2002.

Statewide, more students have been tested. The number of test-takers grew by 2 percent to 22,831 this year.

The average SAT verbal score of South Carolina students grew by five points to 493 and compares with a three-point improvement in the national average score to 507.

The state's average math score increased three points to 496, matching the national improvement to an average math score of 519. Possible scores on each section range from 200 to 800.

While the gap between whites and non-Asian minorities widened nationwide, in South Carolina, the gap got smaller for all ethnic groups, except American Indians and Mexican Americans. Black students in South Carolina increased test scores by eight points to 847.

Female test-takers in South Carolina increased scores by six points to 971, while male test-takers increased scores by 10 points to 1,010.

Gov. Mark Sanford praised students, parents and teachers for their work increasing the state average, but criticized the South Carolina educational system, which he said holds the state back from reaching its full potential.

"What I want to see are even bigger changes that free up those students, parents and teachers to realize even greater progress in achievement levels," Sanford said.

Sanford expressed support for school vouchers in his bid for the office and has proposed giving schools more flexibility in the way they spend money.

House Speaker David Wilkins, R-Greenville, said the state's push in the 1990s to bring back-to-basics curriculum to the classroom, along with higher standards are factors in the improved test scores.

"The jump in our SAT scores proves that when you make schools accountable, get parents intimately involved in the education system and provide students the incentive to achieve, they can and do rise to the challenge," Wilkins said.

It's important to stay the course and continue to work on the plan the state has laid, but legislators must also realize the direct effect lower funding can have on SAT scores, particularly in rural school districts, Tenenbaum said.

State funding for schools has decreased by at least 6 percent in the past three years. When school budgets are cut, programs and teachers who offer extra tutoring and summer enrichment programs, both helpful to SAT test-takers, are among the first to go, Tenenbaum said.