Half of the district's senior class, or 1,087 students, took the curriculum-based exam last school year, as compared to 962 students in the previous year.
Students earn scores on a scale from 1 to a perfect 36 on the test, which includes sections on English, math, reading and science. The exam is accepted by all of Georgia's public colleges and universities.
The district's average score rose to 22.2 last school year from 22. Cherokee County students also surpassed the state's average of 20.7 and the national average of 21.
By subject, the district's scores rose to 21.8 from 21.5 in English, to 22.2 from 21.9 in math and to 21.9 from 21.6 in science. Reading held steady at 22.6.
"We're just ecstatic," Dr. Susan Padgett-Harrison, the district's director of assessment, said of the results.
The increase, she said, can be attributed to teachers effectively teaching the tougher Georgia Performance Standards.
"We have more of an intensive effort... to focus on higher level thinking skills," she added.
She noted more students are opting to take the ACT because it's geared towards factual knowledge, as opposed to the SAT's focus on analytical responses.
Each school's data management teams will analyze the scores to see where improvements can be made, she said.
The exam this school year will be administered at the county's high schools on Sept. 11, Oct. 23, Dec. 11, Feb. 12 and April 9.
At Cherokee High, the average score dipped to 21.3 from 21.6. English scores fell to 20.5 from 20.9, math to 21.4 from 21.6, reading to 21.5 from 22.2 and science to 21 from 21.3.
Principal Debra Murdock, who took the Canton school's reigns this month, said she still is proud of her students' performance despite the drop.
"We are pleased that even with a dramatic increase in the number of students taking the ACT, we are holding steady with very solid scores," she said.
Cherokee High had 232 take the exam last school year, up from 177 last year.
This school year, she said, the staff will offer free prep sessions for the ACT and SAT on the Saturdays preceding the exams.
Etowah High saw increases across the board, with its composite score climbing to 23.6 from 22.4. By subject, scores increased to 23.3 from 21.8 in English, to 23.7 from 22 in math, to 24 from 23.2 in reading and to 23.1 from 22 in science.
More students took the exam at Etowah, rising to 355 last school year from 313 the previous school year.
Woodstock High's average score remained at 21.5. By subject, scores decreased to 21.1 from 21 in English and to 20.9 from 21.8 in math; reading held steady at 21.8 while science jumped to 21.3 from 20.6.
There were 168 Woodstock students who took the exam last school year, down slightly from 181 the previous school year.
Creekview High's average score fell to 21.6 from 22.1. By subject, scores dropped to 21.3 from 21.9 in English, to 21.4 from 21.5 in math, to 22.2 from 22.6 in reading and to 21.3 from 21.9 in science.
The number of Creekview students taking the exam grew to 145 last school year from 137 the previous school year.
Sequoyah High's composite score dropped to 22.2 from 22.7. By subject, scores dipped to 21.8 from 22.3 in English, to 22.6 from 22.4 in math, to 22.3 from 23.2 in reading and to 21.9 from 22.4 in science.
Sequoyah also saw an increase in the number of students taking the exam, climbing to 169 last school year from 137 the previous school year.
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