BATON ROUGE La.

The average composite score for Louisiana students taking the American College Test in 2007 was 20.1, the same as last year, the state's top higher education board said Wednesday.

The national average was 21.2, up from 21.1 last year, according to the Board of Regents.

In a news release, the board said that over the past five years, Louisiana's average composite score has risen 0.5 points, better than the national average improvement of 0.4 points.

The states average math and reading scores both improved by one tenth of a point over the previous year, to 19.5 and 20.2.

Most Louisiana colleges and universities use the ACT to gauge college readiness and to qualify students for admission.

"While the trend over the last 5 years has been very promising, we need to make more progress," said state Education Superintendent Paul G. Pastorek. "In order to do so, we must take steps to redesign our high schools. We cannot keep doing what we have been doing and expect to see ACT scores rise.

Commissioner of Higher Education Joseph Savoie said the results were encouraging, in light of the continuing positive trend.


- Associated Press

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