NC Superintendent of Public Instruction Catherine Truitt 2023 | North Carolina Department of Public Instruction
NC Superintendent of Public Instruction Catherine Truitt 2023 | North Carolina Department of Public Instruction
Reading scores in North Carolina counties dropped 1% compared to the previous school year, when 34% of students were considered ready for post-secondary education.
Statewide, Orange County students stood out in reading, with almost 56% of the 11th-graders hitting the ACT benchmark in the 2022-23 school year (839). Meanwhile, students from Washington County struggled the most on the reading portion, and only 5.9% were considered ready for college.
Beyond reading, 39.5% of North Carolina 11th-graders met English college readiness benchmarks in the 2022-23 school year. In math, 23.3% of students were ready for college, and science scores revealed 23.4% of juniors also met the standard.
North Carolina's education system is still grappling with the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic. According to the 2022-23 ACT results, college readiness among North Carolina students falls short of pre-pandemic levels, with only 17.1% meeting benchmarks.
Additionally, the state's performance is lagging behind the national average, which currently stands at 21%.
| County | Met or Exceeded Benchmarks (2021-22) | Met or Exceeded Benchmarks (2022-23) |
|---|---|---|
| Alamance County | 24.5% | 22.6% |
| Alexander County | 29.5% | 24.4% |
| Alleghany County | 29.8% | 33% |
| Anson County | 12.3% | 7.6% |
| Ashe County | 30.4% | 37.8% |
| Avery County | 33.8% | 32.9% |
| Beaufort County | 25.1% | 23.8% |
| Bertie County | 12% | 11.3% |
| Bladen County | 20.5% | 14.7% |
| Brunswick County | 30.3% | 25.6% |
| Buncombe County | 42.4% | 43.6% |
| Burke County | 33.9% | 33.2% |
| Cabarrus County | 35% | 33.5% |
| Caldwell County | 28.8% | 25.5% |
| Camden County | 45.8% | 46.2% |
| Carteret County | 46.9% | 51.1% |
| Caswell County | 22% | 14.6% |
| Catawba County | 32.7% | 28.2% |
| Chatham County | 47.5% | 46% |
| Cherokee County | 37.6% | 36.7% |
| Chowan County | 21.7% | 21.2% |
| Clay County | 36.6% | 29.9% |
| Cleveland County | 29.8% | 25.6% |
| Columbus County | 17.3% | 14.6% |
| Craven County | 33.8% | 26.4% |
| Cumberland County | 29.3% | 26.2% |
| Currituck County | 43.2% | 35.4% |
| Dare County | 37.3% | 37.5% |
| Davidson County | 31.9% | 31.7% |
| Davie County | 40.4% | 35.9% |
| Duplin County | 16.4% | 14% |
| Durham County | 36% | 35.5% |
| Edgecombe County | 15.2% | 12.5% |
| Forsyth County | 32.2% | 32.2% |
| Franklin County | 23.8% | 24.9% |
| Gaston County | 28% | 27.6% |
| Gates County | 33.7% | 25.9% |
| Graham County | 14% | 25% |
| Granville County | 23.9% | 27.4% |
| Greene County | 14.6% | 11.4% |
| Guilford County | 29% | 26.9% |
| Halifax County | 11% | 14.8% |
| Harnett County | 28.3% | 29.5% |
| Haywood County | 40.7% | 40.6% |
| Henderson County | 34.1% | 32.5% |
| Hertford County | 5.4% | 11.9% |
| Hoke County | 25.3% | 25.1% |
| Hyde County | 21.2% | 31% |
| Iredell County | 36.5% | 35.3% |
| Jackson County | 35.4% | 30.9% |
| Johnston County | 28.6% | 28.4% |
| Jones County | 26.5% | 21.6% |
| Lee County | 29.9% | 25.9% |
| Lenoir County | 16.9% | 12.1% |
| Lincoln County | 42% | 35.3% |
| Macon County | 35.2% | 29.4% |
| Madison County | 36.5% | 31% |
| Martin County | 20.5% | 18.8% |
| McDowell County | 31.5% | 24.6% |
| Mecklenburg County | 38.5% | 36.9% |
| Mitchell County | 28.6% | 32.4% |
| Montgomery County | 23.4% | 25.7% |
| Moore County | 35.5% | 36.2% |
| Nash County | 18.9% | 14.5% |
| New Hanover County | 43.7% | 41% |
| Northampton County | 10.7% | 6.6% |
| Onslow County | 34.3% | 36% |
| Orange County | 56.6% | 56% |
| Pamlico County | 27.1% | 19.2% |
| Pasquotank County | 25.2% | 21.2% |
| Pender County | 41.1% | 38.7% |
| Perquimans County | 26.6% | 20.6% |
| Person County | 27.6% | 27.7% |
| Pitt County | 28.5% | 29.7% |
| Polk County | 41.4% | 40.7% |
| Randolph County | 23.8% | 21.7% |
| Richmond County | 20.3% | 25.3% |
| Robeson County | 12.7% | 10.2% |
| Rockingham County | 23.6% | 21.2% |
| Rowan County | 22.2% | 18.3% |
| Rutherford County | 33.6% | 33.6% |
| Sampson County | 23.1% | 20.6% |
| Scotland County | 21.4% | 17.9% |
| Stanly County | 34.4% | 27.4% |
| Stokes County | 26.6% | 28.1% |
| Surry County | 36.9% | 35.4% |
| Swain County | 35.3% | 23.5% |
| Transylvania County | 41.5% | 33.6% |
| Tyrrell County | 22.9% | 9.1% |
| Union County | 45.7% | 42.5% |
| Vance County | 24.1% | 22.2% |
| Wake County | 46% | 48.7% |
| Warren County | 13.2% | 11.2% |
| Washington County | 3.1% | 5.9% |
| Watauga County | 43.4% | 44.6% |
| Wayne County | 22.2% | 19.9% |
| Wilkes County | 26.5% | 30.3% |
| Wilson County | 25.6% | 28.5% |
| Yadkin County | 29.6% | 28.6% |
| Yancey County | 38.6% | 41.7% |
| North Carolina | 34% | 33% |
Alerts Sign-up