NC North Carolina News

At Stokes County Schools, 143 out of 402 junior students taking the English portion of the ACT met the college readiness benchmark in the 2022-23 school year, according to the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction.

English scores among the district's schools rose to 35.6% compared to the previous school year, when 31.2% of students were considered ready for post-secondary education.

Stokes Early College High School students stood out from schools in Stokes County Schools in English, with almost 71.4% of the 11th-graders hitting the ACT benchmark in the 2022-23 school year (20). Meanwhile, students from South Stokes High School struggled the most on the English portion, and only 26.2% were considered ready for college.

For comparison, North Carolina saw 41% of its students meeting or exceeding the ACT benchmarks for English during the 2022-23 school year.

Besides English, 28.4% of Stokes County Schools 11th-graders met reading college readiness benchmarks in the 2022-23 school year. In math, 17.4% of students were ready for college, and science scores revealed 14.7% of juniors also met the standard. Overall, Stokes County Schools had an average college readiness of 9% 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)
Stokes Early College High School	69.7%	71.4%
North Stokes High School	22.1%	36.8%
West Stokes High School	32%	36.7%
South Stokes High School	26.5%	26.2%
Meadowbrook Academy	<5%	<5%
Stokes County Schools	31.2%	35.6%