In 1989, North Carolina's scores on the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) were the lowest in the nation. The Superintendent of Public Instruction developed a plan to address this situation, and North Carolina scores improved in 1990 to rank above South Carolina. This report is one aspect of the improvement plan. This first of two volumes introduces the report; describes the data; and focuses on national and North Carolina performance on the SAT historically, in 1989, and in 1990. SAT results were released by 126 North Carolina school systems. Summary school system data are provided, and successful school systems are highlighted. The data in this report are taken from three primary sources: "National College-Bound Seniors: 1990 SAT Profile", "North Carolina College-Bound Seniors: 1990 SAT Profile", and a data tape of individual results for the 126 school systems releasing scores to the Department of Public Instruction. Comparisons were made of the 1989 performance of subgroups of students to the same subgroups in states that are demographically similar to North Carolina and have similar proportions of students taking the SAT. Thirteen tables and six charts are provided. (SLD)