WASHINGTON (AP) _ Nearly two out of three of this year’s high-school graduates took the ACT college entrance exam _ and the scores suggest many aren’t ready for the rigors of college-level courses.

The testing company says only 38 percent of graduating seniors who took the exam hit the college-prepared benchmark in at least three of the four core subjects tested: reading, English, math and science. That’s down from 40 percent last year. Reaching three of more benchmarks indicates a strong readiness for college course work.

ACT’s Paul Weeks says a decline in scores was expected because the pool of test-takers has increased sharply. More states are paying for ACT testing of public school students.

Nearly 2.1 million graduating seniors took the ACT, up from 1.9 million in the last school year.