Here's a little good news, bad news story.

First the bad news, South Dakota hasn't done a whole lot during the past four years to improve its average composite score on the ACT college-entrance exam.

The good news is, we're still kicking butt when it comes to the national average.

South Dakota's average score is 21.9. The national average is 20.8.

6,552 South Dakota students took the ACT test that’s roughly 76 percent of the graduating class of 2016.

Thirty-three percent of South Dakota students who took the ACT exam on the four core subjects tested; reading, English, math and science reached the college-prepared benchmark.

However, of the 450 Native American students that took the ACT test in South Dakota, only 4 percent hit the college-prepared benchmark requirement. That’s less than half of the national rate of 9 percent according to the company conducting the test.

Students that reach three or more benchmarks indicate a strong readiness for college course work.

Around 2.1 million graduating seniors took the ACT test nationwide.

Source: Washington Times

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