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 rose 0.7% compared to the previous school year, when 33.4% of students were considered ready for post-secondary education.
Statewide, Orange County students stood out in reading, with almost 55.9% of the 12th-graders hitting the ACT benchmark in the 2022-23 school year (824). Meanwhile, students from Washington County struggled the most on the reading portion, and only 5.8% were considered ready for college.
Beyond reading, 38.6% of North Carolina 12th-graders met English college readiness benchmarks in the 2022-23 school year. In math, 23.4% of students were ready for college, and science scores revealed 24.1% of seniors 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 | 28.8% | 24.3% |
| Alexander County | 25.3% | 29.4% |
| Alleghany County | 19.8% | 27.7% |
| Anson County | 13.1% | 12.3% |
| Ashe County | 38% | 25.9% |
| Avery County | 27.7% | 33.8% |
| Beaufort County | 26.3% | 25.4% |
| Bertie County | 13.3% | 11% |
| Bladen County | 11% | 21.9% |
| Brunswick County | 25.9% | 30.2% |
| Buncombe County | 41.3% | 41.8% |
| Burke County | 36.9% | 33.5% |
| Cabarrus County | 34.2% | 35.3% |
| Caldwell County | 30% | 28.9% |
| Camden County | 42% | 33.7% |
| Carteret County | 42.9% | 47.5% |
| Caswell County | 14.2% | 21.6% |
| Catawba County | 31.2% | 32.7% |
| Chatham County | 47.4% | 46.7% |
| Cherokee County | 37.6% | 36.5% |
| Chowan County | 22.8% | 21.7% |
| Clay County | 28.2% | 36.1% |
| Cleveland County | 26.2% | 30.5% |
| Columbus County | 16.3% | 17.3% |
| Craven County | 31% | 32.7% |
| Cumberland County | 27.6% | 29% |
| Currituck County | 33.8% | 42.7% |
| Dare County | 41.6% | 37% |
| Davidson County | 27.7% | 31.6% |
| Davie County | 32% | 40.3% |
| Duplin County | 13.6% | 15.7% |
| Durham County | 34.9% | 35.5% |
| Edgecombe County | 14.2% | 15.1% |
| Forsyth County | 31.3% | 32.2% |
| Franklin County | 26.5% | 23.7% |
| Gaston County | 34.1% | 27.8% |
| Gates County | 18.5% | 32% |
| Graham County | 18.1% | 14.8% |
| Granville County | 18.6% | 24.2% |
| Greene County | 17% | 14.5% |
| Guilford County | 29.7% | 29.3% |
| Halifax County | 13.3% | 12.7% |
| Harnett County | 25.7% | 27.9% |
| Haywood County | 40.2% | 41.5% |
| Henderson County | 30.7% | 34.2% |
| Hertford County | 14.8% | 9.4% |
| Hoke County | 27.3% | 24.9% |
| Hyde County | 45.5% | 21.2% |
| Iredell County | 37.9% | 39.6% |
| Jackson County | 36% | 35.6% |
| Johnston County | 28.2% | 28.7% |
| Jones County | 17.9% | 25.4% |
| Lee County | 26.8% | 29.7% |
| Lenoir County | 14.6% | 16.4% |
| Lincoln County | 34% | 42.1% |
| Macon County | 26.8% | 31.5% |
| Madison County | 31.5% | 34.3% |
| Martin County | 18.1% | 15.6% |
| McDowell County | 24.3% | 31.2% |
| Mecklenburg County | 40.1% | 39.6% |
| Mitchell County | 23.7% | 30.2% |
| Montgomery County | 20.4% | 15.9% |
| Moore County | 37.5% | 35.9% |
| Nash County | 15.2% | 19.3% |
| New Hanover County | 42.2% | 43.8% |
| Northampton County | 8.3% | 11.3% |
| Onslow County | 35.1% | 34% |
| Orange County | 58.3% | 55.9% |
| Pamlico County | 18.5% | 28.5% |
| Pasquotank County | 30.4% | 23.6% |
| Pender County | 38.9% | 40.4% |
| Perquimans County | 13.9% | 25.7% |
| Person County | 28.7% | 27.8% |
| Pitt County | 26.3% | 27.9% |
| Polk County | 38.9% | 32.5% |
| Randolph County | 24.2% | 24% |
| Richmond County | 14% | 18.9% |
| Robeson County | 11.3% | 12.3% |
| Rockingham County | 20.5% | 23.3% |
| Rowan County | 21.7% | 22.4% |
| Rutherford County | 33.3% | 33.7% |
| Sampson County | 22.3% | 23% |
| Scotland County | 16.1% | 21.2% |
| Stanly County | 34.8% | 34.7% |
| Stokes County | 24.8% | 27.1% |
| Surry County | 30.7% | 37.2% |
| Swain County | 28.6% | 36.8% |
| Transylvania County | 32.8% | 40.1% |
| Tyrrell County | 12.2% | 17.1% |
| Union County | 45.3% | 46.1% |
| Vance County | 19.2% | 23.1% |
| Wake County | 47.9% | 46.3% |
| Warren County | 11.4% | 14.7% |
| Washington County | 3.1% | 5.8% |
| Watauga County | 51.1% | 46.6% |
| Wayne County | 18.8% | 21.9% |
| Wilkes County | 28.6% | 27.3% |
| Wilson County | 25.1% | 25.8% |
| Yadkin County | 34.4% | 28.8% |
| Yancey County | 27.3% | 39.7% |
| North Carolina | 33.4% | 34.1% |
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