MADISON, Wis. (AP) -- Scores held steady for Wisconsin's Class of 2017 on the ACT college entrance exam.
In results released Thursday, Wisconsin's average composite score was 20.5 for the second year in a row. That's behind the national average of 21.0. But it was the third highest among the 17 states where all graduates were tested, behind only Minnesota and Colorado.
The national average returned to 2014-15 levels after dropping to 20.8 last year.
Fifty-nine percent of Wisconsin graduates met the English college readiness benchmark, while 42 percent hit the reading benchmark, 39 percent met the math benchmark and 37 percent hit the science benchmark.
Wisconsin's average scores are down from previous years because the state started requiring all 11th graders to take the ACT in 2015, not just students bound for college.
