Bryan County Schools got some good news about test scores this week.

With an average ACT score of 21.8, the system ranked in the Top 10 in the state. Bryan County Schools was tied for No. 9 with school systems in Lee and White counties.

Bryan County school officials were pleased with the news.

"My perception would be that (ranking) is indicative of what we are preparing young high school graduates for," said Assistant Superintendent Brad Anderson. "Hopefully, it’s indicative of what we are doing in all our classrooms, from PreK to grade 12."

Bryan County Schools led the region in ACT scores and was the only school system in the area listed among the state’s top system.

Anderson said that is in part due to increased focus in recent years on what he called "standard’s based instruction," which helps teachers and students hone in on ways to meet educational goals.

"It’s covering the same information in multiple ways and giving students more tools to learn," Anderson said.

The national average score on the ACT was 21.1 -- the highest one can make is 36 -- and Georgia’s state average of 20.8 was ranked the state 40th, up from 47th in 2005.

Like the more widely known SAT, the ACT is a college admissions test. Though both the ACT and the SAT are accepted by four-year colleges, fewer college bound students take the ACT than the SAT. -- though that number is changing.

Fifty percent more college bound seniors in Georgia took the test last year than in 2006, according to State Superintendent of Schools Kathy Cox. Approximately 36,000 students took the SAT last year.

In Bryan County, only 123 students took the ACT in 2008 while 233 took the SAT, scoring a region-leading average of 1,514.

Anderson said he expects the school system’s SAT scores to go up this year as well. Those scores will be released Aug. 25.