NC North Carolina News

At Rockingham County Schools, 166 out of 711 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 23.3% compared to the previous school year, when 20.8% 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 63.3% of the 12th-graders hitting the ACT benchmark in the 2022-23 school year (50). Meanwhile, students from Reidsville High School struggled the most on the reading portion, and only 9.2% 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, 27.3% of Rockingham County Schools 12th-graders met English college readiness benchmarks in the 2022-23 school year. In math, 16.2% of students were ready for college, and science scores revealed 14.6% of seniors also met the standard. Overall, Rockingham County Schools had an average college readiness of 10.4% 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	51.6%	63.3%
Dalton McMichael High School	19.7%	24.3%
Rockingham County High School	20.1%	23.7%
John M. Morehead High School	12.7%	14.7%
Reidsville High School	15.4%	9.2%
The SCORE Center	<5%	<5%
Rockingham County Schools	20.8%	23.3%