NE Piedmont News

At Vance County Schools, 15 out of 210 senior students taking the math portion of the ACT met the college readiness benchmark in the 2022-23 school year, according to the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction.

Math scores among the district's schools rose to 7.1% compared to the previous school year, when 6.4% of students were considered ready for post-secondary education.

For comparison, North Carolina saw 25% of its students meeting or exceeding the ACT benchmarks for math during the 2022-23 school year.

Besides math, 20% of Vance County Schools 12th-graders met English college readiness benchmarks in the 2022-23 school year. In reading, 17.1% of students were ready for college, and science scores revealed 7.6% of seniors also met the standard. Overall, Vance County Schools had an average college readiness of less than 5% across all ACT areas.

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%.

School	Met or Exceeded Benchmarks (2021-22)	Met or Exceeded Benchmarks (2022-23)
Vance County Early College	19.1%	26.8%
AdVance Academy	<5%	<5%
Vance Virtual Village Academy	<5%	<5%
Vance County High School	<5%	<5%
Vance County Schools	6.4%	7.1%