In the 2023-24 school year, 24,850 (23.4%) out of 106,198 North Carolina junior students taking the math portion of the ACT met the college readiness benchmark, according to the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction.
Math scores in North Carolina counties rose 0.1% compared to the previous school year, when 23.3% of students were considered ready for post-secondary education.
Statewide, Orange County students stood out in the test, with almost 46.9% of the 11th-graders hitting the ACT math benchmark in the 2023-24 school year (717). Meanwhile, students from Bladen County and Northampton County struggled the most with the subject, and none were considered ready for college.
Beyond math, 38.5% of North Carolina 11th-graders met English college readiness benchmarks in the 2023-24 school year. In reading, 33.6% of students were ready for college, and science scores revealed 22.7% of juniors also met the standard.
Despite steady enrollment, North Carolina schools continue to face significant funding challenges. The state’s per-student spending remains nearly $5,000 below the national average, limiting resources for teachers, classrooms, and student support programs. In fact, North Carolina ranks 48th out of 50 states in per-student funding (after adjusting for regional costs).
| County | Met or Exceeded Benchmarks (2022-23) | Met or Exceeded Benchmarks (2023-24) |
|---|---|---|
| Alamance County | 14% | 11.5% |
| Alexander County | 16.6% | 17.5% |
| Alleghany County | 27.7% | 13.8% |
| Anson County | 4.7% | 5.6% |
| Ashe County | 27.7% | 31.3% |
| Avery County | 17.6% | 16.3% |
| Beaufort County | 16.7% | 17.2% |
| Bertie County | 1.5% | 6.8% |
| Bladen County | 3.9% | 0% |
| Brunswick County | 15.1% | 10.9% |
| Buncombe County | 32.5% | 30% |
| Burke County | 20.4% | 20.9% |
| Cabarrus County | 29.1% | 28.7% |
| Caldwell County | 15.1% | 9.2% |
| Camden County | 33.1% | 32.6% |
| Carteret County | 35.4% | 39.5% |
| Caswell County | 0% | 11% |
| Catawba County | 19.3% | 18.1% |
| Chatham County | 35.2% | 29.1% |
| Cherokee County | 15.5% | 18.5% |
| Chowan County | 17.8% | 10.3% |
| Clay County | 18.4% | 16% |
| Cleveland County | 17.9% | 11.9% |
| Columbus County | 7.5% | 1.4% |
| Craven County | 15.7% | 14.7% |
| Cumberland County | 12.5% | 13.3% |
| Currituck County | 24.3% | 17.2% |
| Dare County | 29.3% | 27.2% |
| Davidson County | 22% | 20.8% |
| Davie County | 30% | 24.9% |
| Duplin County | 7.4% | 8.2% |
| Durham County | 23.5% | 21.4% |
| Edgecombe County | 7% | 4.4% |
| Forsyth County | 20.2% | 21.8% |
| Franklin County | 11.6% | 10.3% |
| Gaston County | 18.7% | 13.7% |
| Gates County | 17.2% | 8.8% |
| Graham County | 10.3% | 6.8% |
| Granville County | 13.4% | 14.2% |
| Greene County | 1.1% | 1% |
| Guilford County | 19.1% | 16.5% |
| Halifax County | 5.5% | 8.7% |
| Harnett County | 16.2% | 14.3% |
| Haywood County | 27.9% | 31.8% |
| Henderson County | 19.8% | 21% |
| Hertford County | 3.1% | 4.1% |
| Hoke County | 16.7% | 14.9% |
| Hyde County | 20.7% | 40% |
| Iredell County | 22.5% | 29.8% |
| Jackson County | 26.3% | 20.7% |
| Johnston County | 17.4% | 17.7% |
| Jones County | 0% | 7.9% |
| Lee County | 14.9% | 15.3% |
| Lenoir County | 6.5% | 8.7% |
| Lincoln County | 27% | 28.9% |
| Macon County | 17.7% | 21.8% |
| Madison County | 13.9% | 4.7% |
| Martin County | 7.4% | 4.8% |
| McDowell County | 15.7% | 19.6% |
| Mecklenburg County | 30.2% | 30% |
| Mitchell County | 16.7% | 15.5% |
| Montgomery County | 11.6% | 15.7% |
| Moore County | 23.3% | 18.2% |
| Nash County | 6.1% | 5.5% |
| New Hanover County | 31.4% | 30.6% |
| Northampton County | 0% | 0% |
| Onslow County | 20% | 16.5% |
| Orange County | 45.7% | 46.9% |
| Pamlico County | 13.5% | 18.8% |
| Pasquotank County | 12.8% | 12.1% |
| Pender County | 26% | 24.3% |
| Perquimans County | 23.7% | 18.7% |
| Person County | 15.9% | 15.9% |
| Pitt County | 24.5% | 21.3% |
| Polk County | 26.7% | 20.4% |
| Randolph County | 9.8% | 10.2% |
| Richmond County | 10.9% | 10% |
| Robeson County | 1.6% | 1% |
| Rockingham County | 12.8% | 9.7% |
| Rowan County | 6% | 9.5% |
| Rutherford County | 20.6% | 24.4% |
| Sampson County | 13.5% | 8.8% |
| Scotland County | 12% | 5.3% |
| Stanly County | 19.5% | 18.7% |
| Stokes County | 17.1% | 15.7% |
| Surry County | 25% | 22.1% |
| Swain County | 16.7% | 22% |
| Transylvania County | 21.1% | 27.4% |
| Tyrrell County | 9.1% | 4.5% |
| Union County | 36.3% | 41.8% |
| Vance County | 9.8% | 9.9% |
| Wake County | 39.6% | 40.5% |
| Warren County | 1.5% | 5.4% |
| Washington County | 2.9% | 1.5% |
| Watauga County | 32.8% | 28.5% |
| Wayne County | 10.9% | 8.9% |
| Wilkes County | 21% | 20.4% |
| Wilson County | 13.4% | 15.7% |
| Yadkin County | 16% | 18.2% |
| Yancey County | 25.2% | 21.3% |
| North Carolina | 23.3% | 23.4% |
