Wisconsin students score average of 22.2 out of possible 36 on ACT college entrance exam

MADISON -- Wisconsin is tied with Iowa for the No. 2 spot among states on the ACT college entrance exam.

Wisconsin held onto second place, just behind Minnesota, among states where significant numbers of students take the test.

Wisconsin's high school seniors scored an average composite of 22.2 out of a possible 36 — the same result as in 2014.

About 73 percent of Wisconsin seniors took the exam this year. The test measures students' readiness for the first year of college.

State Superintendent Tony Evers says college-bound students "did a fine job." But the results found achievement gaps persist between students of color and their white peers.

Nearly all of Wisconsin's public school 11th-graders took the ACT this spring as part of statewide assessments. Those results will be reported this fall.