The Class of 2012 reverted to match Wisconsin's lowest score since 1996 on the dominant college admissions test after a slight uptick in the statewide average ACT score last year, but many suburban Milwaukee graduates still made gains, according to results released Wednesday.

Wisconsin's average ACT composite score of 22.1 is still high, tying with Iowa for second place among states where more than half the graduating seniors take the college admissions test and beating the national average 2012 ACT composite score of 21.1.

And that comes after Wisconsin has seen an increase in the diversity of students taking the rigorous, four-hour exam.

But the average ACT composite score dropped from 2011 for most of the state's major student subgroups, including for white students. Black students' average composite score slid to 16 from 16.2 in 2011. White students' scores shifted slightly to 23 from 23.1. Asian students' average composite score fell to 20.2 from last year's 20.6.

Meanwhile, several Milwaukee-area suburban districts celebrated some of their highest ACT score results to date.

Brookfield Central High School inched up to 25.1 from last year's average composite score of 25, and Brookfield East posted an average composite score of 25.8, up from last year's 25.3.

"These are highs for both of our high school," Superintendent Mark Hansen said. The 2012 scores continue a four-year upward trend on the ACT for the Elmbrook School District, even as the district has seen more students taking the exam.

"We continue to see record levels of participants and yet we're also getting record levels of student performance," he said. "Usually you see one or the other."

Oconomowoc High School and Pewaukee High School, also in Waukesha County, and Cedarburg High School in Ozaukee County reported their highest ACT composite scores to date: 22.7, 23.7 and 25.1, respectively.

Ozaukee High School in Fredonia averaged a composite score of 22.9, continuing an upward trend from 22.3 in 2010 and 22.7 in 2011, Superintendent Blake Peuse said.

Homestead High School landed a composite of 25.2 - well above the state average, but not enough to please Mequon-Thiensville Superintendent Demond Means.

"We're a little disappointed," he said, explaining that this continues a downtrend since the school peaked in 2010 at 25.9, dropped to 25.6 the following year, and fell further to its lowest score in the past five years.

The ACT is a 36-point test that gauges students' skills in English, math, reading and science. The national standardized exam, along with the SAT, helps indicate how prepared students are for college. Universities often look at students' grades and their ACT or SAT scores to help determine whether students should be admitted.

But in recent years, there's been a more targeted push in many places to get a greater number of students to take the ACT, which had traditionally been a voluntary test predominantly taken by students already on the road to college.

MPS expands testing

Milwaukee Public Schools started requiring all juniors to take the ACT test in 2010, paying for the exam and hosting the testing during the school day. The idea was that some students may be more ready for college than they knew; also, it can present a more accurate picture of a district's total college readiness.

The downside: As more students took the exam in MPS, its average ACT composite score fell to a low of 15.8 in 2010. Last year the district's average composite score rose to 16, but it slid back to 15.9 in 2012.

Around 85% of eligible students in MPS are now taking the ACT test.

West Bend's high schools, which are also starting to require ACT testing, expect to see a drop in their composite ACT score next year as a result of opening up the test to more students, who may be lower performers or simply not on a college track.

The Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction reported a statewide participation rate of 71% for the Class of 2012, with 47,588 graduates statewide taking the test at some point during their high school career.

The latest group of test-takers was also the most diverse the state has seen, with about 20% of students identifying themselves as being from a racial or ethnic minority.

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ACT highlights

Wisconsin average: 22.1 in 2012, 22.2 in 2011

National average: 21.1 in 2012; 21.1 in 2011

Milwaukee Public Schools: 15.9 in 2012; 16 in 2011

Sampling of suburban results: Homestead High, 25.2 in 2012; 25.6 in 2011; Nicolet, 24.7 in 2012; 24 in 2011; Whitefish Bay, 25.8 in 2012; 26.6 in 2011; Slinger, 23.6 in 2012; 23.6 in 2011; Arrowhead, 24.9 in 2012; 24.7 in 2011; Menomonee Falls, 22.9 in 2012; 23.1 in 2011

Jim McLaughlin of the Journal Sentinel staff contributed to this report.