North Dakota had the lowest percentage of SAT test takers in the nation but some of the highest scores on the most recent test - a reflection in part of a relatively small concentration of high achievers, officials say.

Only 256 of North Dakota seniors who graduated last spring took the SAT, or 3 percent. That was tied with South Dakota for the lowest participation rate in the country.

But the North Dakota test-takers had an average SAT score of 594 out of a possible 800 points on the critical reading section. That compared with the national average of 502. They also had an average score of 604 in the math section compared with the national average of 515. In the writing section, the North Dakota average of 568 was well above the national figure of 494.

The higher North Dakota scores reflect "the relatively low participation rate of predominantly higher-achieving students vs. the higher participation rate of a wide spread of students in the nation," said Greg Gallagher, director of standards and achievements for the North Dakota Department of Public Instruction.

Most students in North Dakota take the ACT college entrance exam. "The SAT tends to be an East Coast, West Coast test and the ACT is more a middle-of-the-country, Midwest test," said Michel Hillman, the state university system's vice chancellor for academic and student affairs.

Most of those in North Dakota who take the SAT are trying to get into large or prestigious universities out of state or to qualify for national scholarships, Gallagher said.

Students who take the SAT can specify the schools to which they would like their results sent. The top 10 schools named by North Dakota test-takers included Harvard, Stanford, Northwestern and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

The top two schools, however, were in-state: the University of North Dakota and North Dakota State.

Hillman said they might top the list because they are research universities that attract students interested in such areas as engineering, math and science. Gallagher said another possible reason is that a lot of students plan on attending one of the North Dakota schools if they are not accepted at their out-of-state school of choice.