NATCHEZ — Two Adams County schools beat the state and national averages last school year on the widely used ACT college admissions test.

Trinity Episcopal Day School and Cathedral School officials said they were pleased when scores were released in August., Both schools outperformed the state composite score, 19, and the national average, 21.

Cathedral School students scored an average composite score of 23.2 for the 2014-2015 school year, a jump from the 2013-2014 average of 21.8.

“Last year was one of the best years,” Cathedral Guidance Counselor Jennifer Beach said.

Trinity Guidance Counselor Lisa Allain said Trinity scored a class average of 22.6 for the 2014-2015 school year.

The score is up from 2013-2014 class average of 20.2. For the past four years, the school’s scores have been hovering between 20 and 21.

Trinity Head of School Les Hegwood said it was a significant jump compared to previous years.

“We’re working to make sure we keep trending in that direction,” Hegwood said.

Adams County Christian School students averaged a 20 for the 2014-2015 school year, up from the 2013-2014 score of 17.9.

ACCS Headmaster David King said the school does a lot of ACT preparation, but that the school focuses on more than ACT scores. Grades, behavior and the access to a Christian education are all taken into consideration, he said.

“At the end of the day, (the ACT) is extremely important to us, but we’re not going to deny a child a Christian education if they’ve got those other factors in play,” King said.

In the Natchez-Adams School District, students scored an average composite score of 16.5 for the 2014-2015 school year, which went down slightly from 2013-2014 average of 16.6.

Three NASD had more students in their report than the private schools combined. The report included 148 students, in comparison to Cathedral’s approximately 38, Trinity’s 12 and ACCS’s 34.

All students were seniors.

“We can’t be compared to any other school in this area,” NASD Public Relations Coordinator Steven Richardson said. “We have the largest student population.”