Superintendent of Education Hank Bounds says the state’s graduating class showed marked improvement in the English section of the ACT exam.

Over the last five years, the state average score in English has improved from 18.9 in 2004 to 19.3 in 2008. The students’ average composite score on the ACT was 18.9, which matches the average of the 2007 class.

Bounds attributes the improvement in English to “having high standards.” Mississippi has implemented more rigorous mathematics and language arts curricula over the past two years.