NC North Carolina News

At Stokes County Schools, 105 out of 389 senior students taking the reading portion of the ACT met the college readiness benchmark in the 2022-23 school year, according to the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction.

Reading scores among the district's schools rose to 27% compared to the previous school year, when 25.1% of students were considered ready for post-secondary education.

Stokes Early College High School students stood out from schools in Stokes County Schools in reading, with almost 57.6% of the 12th-graders hitting the ACT benchmark in the 2022-23 school year (19). Meanwhile, students from South Stokes High School struggled the most on the reading portion, and only 17.8% were considered ready for college.

For comparison, North Carolina saw 36% of its students meeting or exceeding the ACT benchmarks for reading during the 2022-23 school year.

Besides reading, 31.4% of Stokes County Schools 12th-graders met English college readiness benchmarks in the 2022-23 school year. In science, 15.2% of students were ready for college, and math scores revealed 13.4% of seniors also met the standard. Overall, Stokes County Schools had an average college readiness of 6.2% 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	37.5%	57.6%
West Stokes High School	25.8%	28.9%
North Stokes High School	21.2%	26%
South Stokes High School	23.5%	17.8%
Meadowbrook Academy	<5%	<5%
Stokes County Schools	25.1%	27%