In the 2023-24 school year, 23,885 (24%) out of 99,521 North Carolina senior students taking the math portion of the ACT met the college readiness benchmark, according to the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction.
Statewide, Orange County students stood out in the test, with almost 44.8% of the 12th-graders hitting the ACT math benchmark in the 2023-24 school year (682). Meanwhile, students from Caswell County, Jones County and Northampton County struggled the most with the subject, and none were considered ready for college.
Beyond math, 40% of North Carolina 12th-graders met English college readiness benchmarks in the 2023-24 school year. In reading, 34% of students were ready for college, and science scores revealed 24% of seniors also met the standard.
North Carolina’s student-teacher ratio is roughly 15.4 students per teacher, aligning with the national average. However, rising teacher turnover threatens to push class sizes higher, making it harder for students to get individualized attention.
If vacancies continue to grow, schools may struggle to maintain this ratio, impacting the quality of instruction. Districts in lower-funded areas face the biggest challenges, as limited budgets make it harder to attract and retain teachers.
| County | Met or Exceeded Benchmarks (2022-23) | Met or Exceeded Benchmarks (2023-24) |
|---|---|---|
| Alamance County | 16% | 14.3% |
| Alexander County | 18.9% | 18% |
| Alleghany County | 16% | 27.1% |
| Anson County | 0% | 4.8% |
| Ashe County | 13.6% | 24.6% |
| Avery County | 16.6% | 17.2% |
| Beaufort County | 18.7% | 17.1% |
| Bertie County | 5.9% | 1.5% |
| Bladen County | 6.9% | 3.3% |
| Brunswick County | 17.6% | 15.1% |
| Buncombe County | 25.5% | 31.6% |
| Burke County | 20.9% | 20.4% |
| Cabarrus County | 29.8% | 29.1% |
| Caldwell County | 13.4% | 15% |
| Camden County | 23.2% | 20.6% |
| Carteret County | 33.8% | 35.7% |
| Caswell County | 6.5% | 0% |
| Catawba County | 23.7% | 19.9% |
| Chatham County | 32.4% | 34.6% |
| Cherokee County | 10.4% | 14.8% |
| Chowan County | 7% | 17.2% |
| Clay County | 20.5% | 20.7% |
| Cleveland County | 21.5% | 18% |
| Columbus County | 5.5% | 7.6% |
| Craven County | 18.1% | 15.5% |
| Cumberland County | 14% | 12.5% |
| Currituck County | 25.5% | 23.9% |
| Dare County | 25.8% | 29.4% |
| Davidson County | 21.4% | 21.7% |
| Davie County | 31.3% | 29.7% |
| Duplin County | 9.6% | 7.3% |
| Durham County | 20.8% | 22.5% |
| Edgecombe County | 7.1% | 7% |
| Forsyth County | 20.6% | 20.1% |
| Franklin County | 12.4% | 12.3% |
| Gaston County | 18% | 18.8% |
| Gates County | 7.8% | 17.4% |
| Graham County | 5.7% | 10% |
| Granville County | 12.5% | 13% |
| Greene County | 4.3% | 1.1% |
| Guilford County | 22.1% | 19.3% |
| Halifax County | 5.8% | 6.3% |
| Harnett County | 13.6% | 16.2% |
| Haywood County | 25.8% | 27.3% |
| Henderson County | 23.2% | 20.4% |
| Hertford County | 1.1% | 3.1% |
| Hoke County | 12.7% | 16.4% |
| Hyde County | 15.2% | 20.7% |
| Iredell County | 28.2% | 25.4% |
| Jackson County | 30.3% | 26.7% |
| Johnston County | 16.4% | 17.4% |
| Jones County | 13.4% | 0% |
| Lee County | 14.6% | 14.3% |
| Lenoir County | 9.2% | 6.3% |
| Lincoln County | 31.7% | 26.9% |
| Macon County | 20.3% | 13% |
| Madison County | 17.1% | 13.8% |
| Martin County | 4.6% | 5.4% |
| McDowell County | 15.9% | 15.6% |
| Mecklenburg County | 31.6% | 31% |
| Mitchell County | 8.5% | 16.7% |
| Montgomery County | 0% | 6.9% |
| Moore County | 25.6% | 23.3% |
| Nash County | 7.1% | 6.5% |
| New Hanover County | 29.6% | 31.3% |
| Northampton County | 4.3% | 0% |
| Onslow County | 18.7% | 18.9% |
| Orange County | 45.5% | 44.8% |
| Pamlico County | 15.4% | 15.7% |
| Pasquotank County | 6.1% | 10.5% |
| Pender County | 25.3% | 23.8% |
| Perquimans County | 14.2% | 23.7% |
| Person County | 16.6% | 17.3% |
| Pitt County | 19.8% | 22.7% |
| Polk County | 20% | 28.6% |
| Randolph County | 12.5% | 9.9% |
| Richmond County | 10.6% | 10.9% |
| Robeson County | 2.3% | 1.7% |
| Rockingham County | 14.7% | 13.2% |
| Rowan County | 8.2% | 6.2% |
| Rutherford County | 23.1% | 19.4% |
| Sampson County | 13% | 13.8% |
| Scotland County | 11% | 11.2% |
| Stanly County | 22.2% | 19.9% |
| Stokes County | 12.9% | 17.2% |
| Surry County | 24.8% | 24.9% |
| Swain County | 18.4% | 17.5% |
| Transylvania County | 24.5% | 20% |
| Tyrrell County | 0% | 7.7% |
| Union County | 39.9% | 36.8% |
| Vance County | 13% | 10% |
| Wake County | 37.3% | 39.7% |
| Warren County | 6.9% | 2.5% |
| Washington County | 2.9% | 4.3% |
| Watauga County | 28.7% | 34.5% |
| Wayne County | 13.1% | 11.6% |
| Wilkes County | 19.4% | 21.2% |
| Wilson County | 12.2% | 12.7% |
| Yadkin County | 22.3% | 15.5% |
| Yancey County | 25% | 25.8% |
| North Carolina | 24% | 24% |
