Rocky Mount Today

At Wilson County Schools, 176 out of 612 senior 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 28.8% compared to the previous school year, when 27.8% of students were considered ready for post-secondary education.

Wilson Academy of Applied Technology students stood out from schools in Wilson County Schools in English, with almost 52.4% of the 12th-graders hitting the ACT benchmark in the 2022-23 school year (22). Meanwhile, students from Beddingfield High School struggled the most on the English portion, and only 15.4% 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, 27.1% of Wilson County Schools 12th-graders met reading college readiness benchmarks in the 2022-23 school year. In science, 15.5% of students were ready for college, and math scores revealed 12.9% of seniors also met the standard. Overall, Wilson County Schools had an average college readiness of 8.2% 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)
Wilson Academy of Applied Technology	26.3%	52.4%
Wilson Early College Academy	62.3%	52%
Fike High School	22.6%	29.9%
James Hunt High School	29.6%	25.1%
Beddingfield High School	14.7%	15.4%
Wilson County Schools	27.8%	28.8%