LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A new report says Nebraska’s 2014 high school graduates scored higher on the ACT college entrance exam than students nationally and better than the state’s 2013 graduates.

The Nebraska Education Department says Nebraska’s average ACT composite score was 21.7, seven-tenths of a point higher than the national average of 21.0 out of a possible score of 36. Nebraska’s 2013 figure was 21.5.

Statewide, 17,768 graduating seniors took the test, or 86 percent. That’s up from 84 percent last year.

Most Midwest colleges and many across the country accept or require the ACT for admission. Many colleges accept or require the SAT exam instead, especially on the coasts.