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
Math scores in North Carolina counties dropped 0.2% compared to the previous school year, when 23.5% of students were considered ready for post-secondary education.
Statewide, Orange County students stood out in math, with almost 45.7% of the 11th-graders hitting the ACT benchmark in the 2022-23 school year (685). Meanwhile, students from Caswell County, Jones County and Northampton County struggled the most on the math portion, and none were considered ready for college.
Beyond math, 39.5% of North Carolina 11th-graders met English college readiness benchmarks in the 2022-23 school year. In reading, 33% 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 | 16.4% | 14% |
| Alexander County | 17.8% | 16.6% |
| Alleghany County | 16% | 27.7% |
| Anson County | 0% | 4.7% |
| Ashe County | 14.7% | 27.7% |
| Avery County | 16.6% | 17.6% |
| Beaufort County | 18.4% | 16.7% |
| Bertie County | 6.5% | 1.5% |
| Bladen County | 7.1% | 3.9% |
| Brunswick County | 17.6% | 15.1% |
| Buncombe County | 26.4% | 32.5% |
| Burke County | 21.7% | 20.4% |
| Cabarrus County | 29.3% | 29.1% |
| Caldwell County | 13.7% | 15.1% |
| Camden County | 31.4% | 33.1% |
| Carteret County | 35.2% | 35.4% |
| Caswell County | 6.4% | 0% |
| Catawba County | 23.3% | 19.3% |
| Chatham County | 32.5% | 35.2% |
| Cherokee County | 11% | 15.5% |
| Chowan County | 7% | 17.8% |
| Clay County | 19.5% | 18.4% |
| Cleveland County | 21.2% | 17.9% |
| Columbus County | 5.5% | 7.5% |
| Craven County | 18.5% | 15.7% |
| Cumberland County | 14.4% | 12.5% |
| Currituck County | 26.6% | 24.3% |
| Dare County | 25.6% | 29.3% |
| Davidson County | 21.5% | 22% |
| Davie County | 32.6% | 30% |
| Duplin County | 10% | 7.4% |
| Durham County | 21.8% | 23.5% |
| Edgecombe County | 7.4% | 7% |
| Forsyth County | 20.7% | 20.2% |
| Franklin County | 12.1% | 11.6% |
| Gaston County | 18.4% | 18.7% |
| Gates County | 7.7% | 17.2% |
| Graham County | 4.7% | 10.3% |
| Granville County | 12.9% | 13.4% |
| Greene County | 7.9% | 1.1% |
| Guilford County | 22.2% | 19.1% |
| Halifax County | 5.5% | 5.5% |
| Harnett County | 14.1% | 16.2% |
| Haywood County | 26.7% | 27.9% |
| Henderson County | 22.7% | 19.8% |
| Hertford County | 1.8% | 3.1% |
| Hoke County | 12.9% | 16.7% |
| Hyde County | 15.2% | 20.7% |
| Iredell County | 25.7% | 22.5% |
| Jackson County | 30.2% | 26.3% |
| Johnston County | 16.7% | 17.4% |
| Jones County | 13.2% | 0% |
| Lee County | 15.4% | 14.9% |
| Lenoir County | 8.8% | 6.5% |
| Lincoln County | 32.1% | 27% |
| Macon County | 21.5% | 17.7% |
| Madison County | 16.8% | 13.9% |
| Martin County | 5.3% | 7.4% |
| McDowell County | 16.9% | 15.7% |
| Mecklenburg County | 30.7% | 30.2% |
| Mitchell County | 4.8% | 16.7% |
| Montgomery County | 10.2% | 11.6% |
| Moore County | 25.7% | 23.3% |
| Nash County | 6.7% | 6.1% |
| New Hanover County | 29.2% | 31.4% |
| Northampton County | 4.3% | 0% |
| Onslow County | 19.1% | 20% |
| Orange County | 46.3% | 45.7% |
| Pamlico County | 14.7% | 13.5% |
| Pasquotank County | 7.1% | 12.8% |
| Pender County | 25.9% | 26% |
| Perquimans County | 13.8% | 23.7% |
| Person County | 16.5% | 15.9% |
| Pitt County | 20.4% | 24.5% |
| Polk County | 21.4% | 26.7% |
| Randolph County | 12.1% | 9.8% |
| Richmond County | 10.9% | 10.9% |
| Robeson County | 2.6% | 1.6% |
| Rockingham County | 14.8% | 12.8% |
| Rowan County | 8.7% | 6% |
| Rutherford County | 23% | 20.6% |
| Sampson County | 13.2% | 13.5% |
| Scotland County | 11.6% | 12% |
| Stanly County | 21.4% | 19.5% |
| Stokes County | 13.4% | 17.1% |
| Surry County | 25% | 25% |
| Swain County | 19.9% | 16.7% |
| Transylvania County | 26.4% | 21.1% |
| Tyrrell County | 2.9% | 9.1% |
| Union County | 39.5% | 36.3% |
| Vance County | 13.3% | 9.8% |
| Wake County | 36.7% | 39.6% |
| Warren County | 7% | 1.5% |
| Washington County | 6.2% | 2.9% |
| Watauga County | 28.1% | 32.8% |
| Wayne County | 13.5% | 10.9% |
| Wilkes County | 18.7% | 21% |
| Wilson County | 11.9% | 13.4% |
| Yadkin County | 23.1% | 16% |
| Yancey County | 23.6% | 25.2% |
| North Carolina | 23.5% | 23.3% |
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