Rocky Mount Today

At Wilson County Schools, 92 out of 635 junior students taking the math portion of the ACT met the college readiness benchmark in the 2022-23 school year, according to the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction.

Math scores among the district's schools rose to 14.5% compared to the previous school year, when 12.8% of students were considered ready for post-secondary education.

Wilson Early College Academy students stood out from schools in Wilson County Schools in math, with almost 35.8% of the 11th-graders hitting the ACT benchmark in the 2022-23 school year (19). Meanwhile, students from Wilson Academy of Applied Technology struggled the most on the math portion, and only 6.7% were considered ready for college.

For comparison, North Carolina saw 25% of its students meeting or exceeding the ACT benchmarks for math during the 2022-23 school year.

Besides math, 32.1% of Wilson County Schools 11th-graders met English college readiness benchmarks in the 2022-23 school year. In reading, 29.5% of students were ready for college, and science scores revealed 15.3% of juniors also met the standard. Overall, Wilson County Schools had an average college readiness of 8.5% 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 Early College Academy	26.5%	35.8%
Wilson Academy of Virtual Education	<5%	20%
James Hunt High School	10.9%	17.5%
Fike High School	14.4%	11.1%
Beddingfield High School	9.1%	8.5%
Wilson Academy of Applied Technology	11.9%	6.7%
Milton M. Daniels Learning Center	0%	<5%
Wilson County Schools	12.8%	14.5%