Columbia students didn’t do as well on the ACT exam this year, but they did better than students around the state and nation.

The 2006 composite score for the Columbia school district is 23.4, down from last year’s score of 23.5. The highest possible score on the college entrance exam is 36.

"It’s pretty much what we expected," Assistant Superintendent of Secondary Education Wanda Brown said. "The one thing we want to make sure we’re doing is realize that we’re looking at a different group of kids. We have to look a little beyond the numbers."

Local scores in the subjects of reading and science remained unchanged from 2005, while math and English scores fell slightly.

Overall, Columbia Public Schools Superintendent Phyllis Chase is satisfied with the scores.

"We continue to be pleased with the overall performance of our students compared to state and national results," she said in a prepared statement. "We are also encouraged by the increase in the percentage of students taking the test."

Although the number of students taking the test fell slightly this past year because of smaller enrollment numbers, the percentage of 2006 graduates taking the test increased from 73.1 last year to 73.4 percent this year. About 70 percent of all Missouri high school students take the voluntary exam.

Black students showed improvement on the exam. The composite score for blacks increased from 17 in 2005 to 17.5 this year. By comparison, the composite score for white students is 24.1.

"I am pleased that scores for African-American students have increased slightly, but we still have a long way to go in order to eliminate the achievement gap," Chase said.

Missouri’s composite score, 21.6, remained unchanged this year, although the state saw slight improvement in every subject except science. According to ACT data, only 30 percent of Missouri test-takers are prepared for college-level biology.

State education officials hope the new graduation requirements, which start with this year’s incoming freshmen class, will boost the scores.

"We should begin to see the effects of that in ACT scores down the road because all kids are going to be required to take more core courses," said Jim Morris, spokesman for the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. The new minimum graduation requirements, adopted last October, require all graduates to earn at least 24 credits, including one additional credit in each of four core subject areas.

The ACT results are important indicators for high schools and colleges, said Charles McClain, interim commissioner of the Department of Higher Education.

"While we have made some progress in recent years, there is much need for improvement," he said in a prepared statement. "The demands of a new economy require a better-educated work force."