In 2006, Washington public and private school students averaged a combined SAT score of 1059, an average score of 527 in reading and 532 in math. That put Washington at the top of a list of 23 states in which more than 50 percent of high school students take the SAT.

Washington's class of 2007 posted a modest increase in ACT performance when compared to the class of 2006, from an average composite score of 22.9 to 23.1.

ACT officials say one-year trends are less meaningful than a long-term increase in composite scores. A more significant measure of improvement can be seen since 2003, said Richard Ferguson, CEO and chairman of ACT, the Iowa City, Iowa-based nonprofit that owns the exam.

Washington students increased their composite ACT scores from 22.5 to 23.1 between 2003 and 2007.

ACT, a curriculum-based test, also provides an analysis of test takers' college readiness and Washington students also scored well above the national average in this measure.

Eighty-one percent of Washington students who took the ACT writing test met the test's benchmark for college readiness, compared to 80 percent last year and the national average of 69 percent. In math, the figure was 60 percent, an improvement from 57 percent in 2006, and better than the national average of 43 percent.

The percentage who met the benchmark for all four subjects including reading and science was 34 percent, compared to 32 percent last year. Only 23 percent met this benchmark nationally.

"I get to look at the real life information across the state, school-by-school and kid-by-kid. We're just much better than we used to be," Bergeson said.

On the Web:

ACT state-by-state results: http://www.act.org/news/data/07/index.html


- Associated Press