Average scores on the SAT college entrance exam held steady this year as a record number of students and more minorities than ever took the test, according to a report released today.

The status quo is an improvement over the slight downward trend over the previous five years.

The high school class of 2010 earned a combined score of 1509 on the three sections of the exam, identical to last year's results. The average writing score dropped one point, math scores edged up one point, and reading results didn't budge.

The average SAT score remains down nine points since 2006, when the writing section was first included and the test moved to a combined 2400-point scale.

SAT test-takers from the class of 2010 who completed a core curriculum — defined as four or more years of English and three or more years of math, natural science, social science and history — scored on average 151 points higher than those who did not. Not surprisingly, students in honors and advanced placement courses also outperformed others.

Nearly 1.6 million students took the SAT this year.