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Craig — Results from the 2008 American College Testing assessment high school juniors took in April show Moffat County High School students scored lower than their peers across the state, on average, in all five categories.

Still, high school students' average scores made modest gains from 2007 in all but one subject area.

Assistant Superintendent Christine Villard said the high school ACT scores point to a slow but positive trend.

"We're making steady gains in the ACT scores," Villard said.

The ACT, a college placement test, measures high school students' knowledge in four areas: English, math, reading and science reasoning. The 215-question test is curriculum-based, according to the ACT Web site, meaning it measures students' knowledge taught in high school courses.

The average of a student's scores in the four subject areas makes up his or her composite score. At the most, a student can earn a 36 composite score, according to the ACT, but the average score is 18.

Average composite scores both at the state and district level fell short of last year's 21.2-point national average composite score. Still, state and district average scores in most subject areas either met or exceeded the test's average 18-point score. The state's average score in the four subject areas was about 20 points, while the School District averaged 18-point scores on the tests.

Compared to last year, MCHS's scores increased by an average of less than one point.

High school scores in English, reading and science reasoning subject areas increased from last year. The high school's average score in math defied this trend. However, like the gains in other subjects, the loss was less than one percent.

Superintendent Pete Bergmann said the test scores were "promising."

"We know we're going in the right direction," he said. "We're not going backward there."