Rocky Mount Today

At Edgecombe County Public Schools, 36 out of 309 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 dropped to 11.7% compared to the previous school year, when 14.4% 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 51.2% of the 12th-graders hitting the ACT benchmark in the 2022-23 school year (22). Meanwhile, students from SouthWest Edgecombe High School struggled the most on the reading portion, and only 8.9% 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, 13.3% of Edgecombe County Public Schools 12th-graders met English college readiness benchmarks in the 2022-23 school year. In math, 7.1% of students were ready for college, and science scores revealed 6.8% of seniors also met the standard. Overall, Edgecombe County Public Schools had an average college readiness of 9.9% 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	57.9%	51.2%
SouthWest Edgecombe High School	10.2%	8.9%
North Edgecombe High School	<5%	<5%
Tarboro High School	8.4%	<5%
Edgecombe County Public Schools	14.4%	11.7%