The average national scores on two out of the three sections of the SAT exam, which is the standardized test students take in order to get into college, trended down for the class of 2012.

That could have to do with the fact more students in the class of '12 took the rival ACT exam than the SAT this year, the first time that has ever happened.

It was only a narrow margin of victory for the ACT, with the ACT being taken by slightly more than 2,000 students. Approximately 1.65 million students took each exam. The amount of students taking the ACT has been growing over the years. It was traditionally favored by central states, with its competition more popular on the coasts. The ACT is taken by all students in nine states. The only state with 100 percent SAT taking is Delaware.

SAT reading and writing scores fell a point a piece, to 496 and 488 respectively, while math scores remained flat at 514. The reading scores marked the lowest mark since 1972.

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