Rocky Mount Today

At Wilson County Schools, 187 out of 635 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 rose to 29.5% compared to the previous school year, when 27.3% of students were considered ready for post-secondary education.

Wilson Early College Academy students stood out from schools in Wilson County Schools in reading, with almost 62.3% of the 11th-graders hitting the ACT benchmark in the 2022-23 school year (33). Meanwhile, students from Beddingfield High School struggled the most on the reading portion, and only 19.7% 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, 32.1% of Wilson County Schools 11th-graders met English college readiness benchmarks in the 2022-23 school year. In science, 15.3% of students were ready for college, and math scores revealed 14.5% 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	46.9%	62.3%
Wilson Academy of Virtual Education	21.4%	50%
Wilson Academy of Applied Technology	40.5%	35.6%
James Hunt High School	22.9%	27%
Fike High School	29.4%	26.9%
Beddingfield High School	18.2%	19.7%
Milton M. Daniels Learning Center	0%	<5%
Wilson County Schools	27.3%	29.5%