NATCHEZ — Scores from the ACT taken by local high school juniors in the Natchez-Adams School District  remained steady in 2017 compared to 2016, albeit several points below the Mississippi average.

The Mississippi Department of Education released new data Thursday for the state’s public school students who took the tests as juniors during the 2016-17 school year.

Every high school junior in the state is administered the test, which measures college readiness.

The 2017 composite average for juniors who took the test in Mississippi was 18.0, down slightly from the 2016 average of 18.3.

In the Natchez-Adams School District juniors scored a 15.4 composite average, 2.6 points below the state average. In 2016, juniors also scored a 15.4.

Forty-eight juniors from the Natchez Early College Academy took the test last spring. The students scored a 17.5 composite score, equaling last year’s scores.

At Natchez High School, 175 juniors took the ACT, scoring an average composite score of 14.7, down slightly from last year’s score of 15.1.

Despite the dip in scores at the high school, the scores for the district remained steady, because twice as many students took the ACT from the Natchez Early College Academy in 2017 than in 2016.

The greatest difference between the Natchez Early College Academy juniors and those at Natchez High School was in reading, where NECA juniors scored a 18.5, four points higher than the high school’s 14.5 score.

Compared to the state average for juniors who took the test in 2017, NASD lags behind the state in all categories.

In English, NASD juniors scored 14.0 compared to the state average of 17.3. In math, NASD juniors scored 15.4 compared to the state average of 17.9. In reading, NASD juniors scored 15.4 compared to the state average 18.1. In science, NASD juniors scored 16.1 compared to the state average of 18.2.

The Mississippi Department of Education also released scores for the state’s graduating class in 2017. ACT scores for individual districts were not released.

The average composite score for Mississippi’s graduating class was 18.6 in 2017, up slightly from 18.4 in 2016.

The national average ACT composite score for the graduating class in 2017 was 21.

More than 36,000 students took the test statewide, up nearly 7,000 from last year.

NASD Superintendent Fred Butcher was unavailable for comment Friday.