Rocky Mount Today

At Edgecombe County Public Schools, 34 out of 283 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 12.1% compared to the previous school year, when 11.7% of students were considered ready for post-secondary education.

Edgecombe Early College High students stood out from schools in Edgecombe County Public Schools in reading, with almost 51.4% of the 11th-graders hitting the ACT benchmark in the 2022-23 school year (18). Meanwhile, students from SouthWest Edgecombe High School struggled the most on the reading portion, and only 9.3% 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, 16.7% of Edgecombe County Public Schools 11th-graders met English college readiness benchmarks in the 2022-23 school year. In math, 8.8% of students were ready for college, and science scores revealed 7.9% of juniors also met the standard. Overall, Edgecombe County Public Schools had an average college readiness of less than 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)
Edgecombe Early College High	51.2%	51.4%
SouthWest Edgecombe High School	8.9%	9.3%
North Edgecombe High School	<5%	<5%
Tarboro High School	<5%	<5%
Edgecombe County Public Schools	11.7%	12.1%