Gov. Sonny Perdue is hoping to inject a little school spirit into improving Georgia's lagging SAT scores.

Standing on the football field of Atlanta's Grady High School, Perdue announced "The Governor's Cup," a statewide competition that will reward schools that show the biggest improvement in the SAT.

"Are you ready for some competition?" Perdue called out to the hundreds of Grady students sitting in the stands. "We've got some great sports rivalries across our state as you know. Now we're going to inject some of that same school spirit and friendly competition into the academic side."

Georgia's SAT scores are 50th in the nation. The public schools scored 980 out of 1,600, outscoring only the District of Columbia school system. Perdue and state Schools Superintendent Kathy Cox have sworn to raise the scores.

"We're better than that, and we ought to show them we're better than that," Perdue said of the state's ranking.

In the Governor's Cup, schools will be divided up as they are in high school athletics, grouped by size -- A through AAAAA -- and eight geographic regions. In each of the regions, the school from each size group that shows the biggest increase in average SAT score will be given a trophy and a $1,000 grant from Turner Broadcasting Corp.

Statewide, the school from each of the five size groups that shows the biggest increase will get the Governor's Cup -- a much larger trophy -- and a $2,000 grant. In addition, students and teachers from winning schools will get tickets to an Atlanta Braves game. The first awards will be handed out next fall, based on this year's SATs. There is also a Web site: www.satrocks.com, which includes SAT practice questions.

"Improving academic achievement is not a game," Perdue said. "But that doesn't mean that we can't have a spirit of friendly competition to inspire renewed emphasis on SAT success."

Perdue emphasized that the Governor's Cup is part of a larger plan to improve SAT scores. Cox has enacted a multistep plan to improve SAT scores. It includes enacting a more difficult curriculum, making sure more students take the pre-SAT and using PSAT data to assess where students are lagging.

Lynn McIntyre, legislative director for the Georgia Parent-Teacher Association, said there are still many questions about the governor's plan, including whether schools that already have high SATs will receive any kind of recognition. However, she said, her group is glad to see that the plan is part of a larger effort to raise academic expectations and that it won't cost the state much money.

"We applaud the governor for attempting to raise SAT scores using foundation funding sources," she said. "And we look forward to a concerted effort to address the serious lack of funding in education."

The Grady High School crowd was respectful to the governor, occasionally screaming "Sonny!" and getting plenty of handshakes and high-fives when Perdue hopped a railing and waded into the crowd. As the students departed, the conversation centered on normal high school fodder -- homework, boyfriends and girlfriends and what everyone did over the weekend. A few grumbled about Perdue's recent proposal to tie SAT scores to the HOPE scholarship. But Justeina Buchanan, a ninth-grader, said it was exciting to meet the governor and gave his plan high marks.

"It tells me the importance of taking the test," she said. "I think I'll study harder for the test. We might get a trophy for our school."