Average composite ACT scores at St. Louis Catholic High School have exceeded parish, state and national averages in each of the last five years, according to figures the school released Monday.

The school garnered an average score of 23.7 for 2011; the averages for Calcasieu and the state are 20.4 and 20.2. The average nationwide is 21.1, according to the report.

Deborah Frank, school president, said St. Louis’ dedicated students and parents, smaller class sizes and “plain old good teachers” make the difference.

“Being above the state average is one thing, but being consistently above the national average — that’s a national standard that we are meeting or exceeding, and that’s pretty important,” she said. “That looks very impressive.”

According to the report, 144 St. Louis students took the ACT, while 35,870 students statewide did. More than 1.6 million students nationwide took the test in 2011.

In the category of Students Meeting College Readiness Benchmarks, St. Louis High’s composite percentage was 32 percent — twice the state’s percentage.

Frank said the 2011 graduating class was “a very strong graduating class.”

“That class was awarded more scholarship money than any other class prior to them,” she said. “Even if you took TOPS out of the equation, they still had more scholarship money than any other class.”