Texas students taking the ACT college entrance exam have scored slightly lower than the national average.

Scores released Tuesday show Texas students had an average composite score of 20.8 out of a possible 36, the same as last year. This year's national average composite score was 21.1.

Texas students scored an average of 19.6 in English, the same as last year, and 21.4 in math, down from 21.5 in 2011.

The average science score was the same both years at 20.9, while the 2012 composite score in reading ticked up from 20.7 to 20.8.

The percentage of Texas students taking the ACT was 39 percent, up 3 percentage points from 2011. Nationwide, 52 percent of high school students took the ACT - including nine states where all students take it.