NC North Carolina News

At Rockingham County Schools, 157 out of 734 junior 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 dropped to 21.4% compared to the previous school year, when 23.7% of students were considered ready for post-secondary education.

Rockingham County Early College High students stood out from schools in Rockingham County Schools in reading, with almost 56.1% of the 11th-graders hitting the ACT benchmark in the 2022-23 school year (37). Meanwhile, students from Reidsville High School struggled the most on the reading portion, and only 11.3% 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, 27.7% of Rockingham County Schools 11th-graders met English college readiness benchmarks in the 2022-23 school year. In math, 13.5% of students were ready for college, and science scores revealed 13% of juniors also met the standard. Overall, Rockingham County Schools had an average college readiness of 6.8% 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)
Rockingham County Early College High	62%	56.1%
Rockingham County High School	23%	24.9%
Dalton McMichael High School	24.8%	21.2%
John M. Morehead High School	16%	12.7%
Reidsville High School	9.6%	11.3%
Rockingham County Schools	23.7%	21.4%