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
Science scores in North Carolina counties rose 1% compared to the previous school year, when 23.1% of students were considered ready for post-secondary education.
Statewide, Orange County students stood out in science, with almost 48.7% of the 12th-graders hitting the ACT benchmark in the 2022-23 school year (719). Meanwhile, students from Montgomery County, Tyrrell County and Washington County struggled the most on the science portion, and none were considered ready for college.
Beyond science, 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 reading scores revealed 34.1% 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 | 17.6% | 16.9% |
| Alexander County | 19.4% | 20.7% |
| Alleghany County | 10.5% | 16% |
| Anson County | 8.2% | 4.8% |
| Ashe County | 17.3% | 16.7% |
| Avery County | 13.2% | 24.8% |
| Beaufort County | 16.9% | 19.7% |
| Bertie County | 5.3% | 5.1% |
| Bladen County | 3.4% | 8.8% |
| Brunswick County | 16.9% | 22.6% |
| Buncombe County | 26% | 28.8% |
| Burke County | 20.5% | 20.3% |
| Cabarrus County | 23.2% | 25.8% |
| Caldwell County | 15.4% | 17.3% |
| Camden County | 26.7% | 23.2% |
| Carteret County | 34.8% | 36.1% |
| Caswell County | 6% | 10.8% |
| Catawba County | 22.6% | 26.9% |
| Chatham County | 39% | 34.1% |
| Cherokee County | 19.6% | 18% |
| Chowan County | 8.1% | 12.2% |
| Clay County | 19.7% | 24.1% |
| Cleveland County | 16.5% | 20.1% |
| Columbus County | 8.7% | 9.8% |
| Craven County | 18.4% | 19.4% |
| Cumberland County | 16.1% | 18.7% |
| Currituck County | 23.2% | 28.8% |
| Dare County | 28% | 20.9% |
| Davidson County | 15.5% | 17.5% |
| Davie County | 24.6% | 26.4% |
| Duplin County | 4.8% | 9.4% |
| Durham County | 23.4% | 23.1% |
| Edgecombe County | 8.5% | 7.7% |
| Forsyth County | 22.4% | 23.2% |
| Franklin County | 12.6% | 14.1% |
| Gaston County | 20.3% | 18.5% |
| Gates County | 6.5% | 21.4% |
| Graham County | 10.6% | 12.5% |
| Granville County | 6.3% | 15.4% |
| Greene County | 9.2% | 7.5% |
| Guilford County | 20.7% | 20.6% |
| Halifax County | 7.4% | 7.2% |
| Harnett County | 14.1% | 16.3% |
| Haywood County | 28.1% | 25.8% |
| Henderson County | 21.5% | 25.3% |
| Hertford County | 12.1% | 4.4% |
| Hoke County | 15% | 10.8% |
| Hyde County | 27.3% | 6.1% |
| Iredell County | 26.9% | 29.2% |
| Jackson County | 23.6% | 27.3% |
| Johnston County | 18% | 21.2% |
| Jones County | 12.5% | 13.4% |
| Lee County | 14.2% | 16% |
| Lenoir County | 7.4% | 9.4% |
| Lincoln County | 26.4% | 31.1% |
| Macon County | 14.7% | 23.2% |
| Madison County | 19.4% | 25.7% |
| Martin County | 9.6% | 4.6% |
| McDowell County | 15.8% | 18.9% |
| Mecklenburg County | 29.9% | 28.4% |
| Mitchell County | 20.6% | 10.4% |
| Montgomery County | 15.1% | 0% |
| Moore County | 27% | 29.1% |
| Nash County | 6.6% | 11.4% |
| New Hanover County | 30.4% | 30% |
| Northampton County | 3.3% | 3.5% |
| Onslow County | 19.5% | 18.4% |
| Orange County | 50% | 48.7% |
| Pamlico County | 5.6% | 19.2% |
| Pasquotank County | 18% | 13% |
| Pender County | 23.1% | 26.7% |
| Perquimans County | 11.9% | 20.4% |
| Person County | 11.9% | 16.2% |
| Pitt County | 19.4% | 20% |
| Polk County | 28.2% | 22.5% |
| Randolph County | 12.6% | 15.3% |
| Richmond County | 4% | 10.3% |
| Robeson County | 3.6% | 5.2% |
| Rockingham County | 14.7% | 13.3% |
| Rowan County | 10.9% | 12.2% |
| Rutherford County | 18.8% | 19.6% |
| Sampson County | 9.5% | 16% |
| Scotland County | 10.1% | 10.6% |
| Stanly County | 21.6% | 21.9% |
| Stokes County | 14.6% | 14.7% |
| Surry County | 22.1% | 25.5% |
| Swain County | 11.8% | 20.6% |
| Transylvania County | 22.7% | 27.8% |
| Tyrrell County | 0% | 0% |
| Union County | 34.1% | 36.8% |
| Vance County | 7.9% | 13.3% |
| Wake County | 39.9% | 38.1% |
| Warren County | 1.8% | 9.5% |
| Washington County | 3.1% | 0% |
| Watauga County | 37.2% | 35.5% |
| Wayne County | 10.5% | 14% |
| Wilkes County | 15.1% | 18.3% |
| Wilson County | 12.2% | 14.4% |
| Yadkin County | 22.2% | 19.6% |
| Yancey County | 15.2% | 25% |
| North Carolina | 23.1% | 24.1% |
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