145 Wayne County Public Schools senior students met science college readiness benchmark on 2022-23 ACT

Catherine Truitt North Carolina Superintendent of Public Instruction | North Carolina Department of Public Instruction website

By EC North Carolina News

Nov 14, 2024

At Wayne County Public Schools, 145 out of 1,013 senior students taking the science portion of the ACT met the college readiness benchmark in the 2022-23 school year, according to the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction.

Science scores among the district's schools rose to 14.3% compared to the previous school year, when 11% of students were considered ready for post-secondary education.

Wayne School of Engineering students stood out from schools in Wayne County Public Schools in science, with almost 46.7% of the 12th-graders hitting the ACT benchmark in the 2022-23 school year (28). Meanwhile, students from Eastern Wayne High School struggled the most on the science portion, and only 6.5% were considered ready for college.

For comparison, North Carolina saw 26% of its students meeting or exceeding the ACT benchmarks for science during the 2022-23 school year.

Besides science, 24.8% of Wayne County Public Schools 12th-graders met English college readiness benchmarks in the 2022-23 school year. In reading, 22.9% of students were ready for college, and math scores revealed 13.6% of seniors also met the standard. Overall, Wayne County Public Schools had an average college readiness of 6.9% 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%.

Wayne County Public Schools ACT Performance by Subjects (2022-23)

Science Performance Among Wayne County Public Schools' 12th-Graders on 2022-23 ACT

School	Met or Exceeded Benchmarks (2021-22)	Met or Exceeded Benchmarks (2022-23)
Wayne School of Engineering	45.8%	46.7%
Wayne Early / Middle College High	18.9%	36%
Rosewood High School	9.9%	16.3%
Charles B. Aycock High School	10.5%	15.4%
Spring Creek High School	9%	12.1%
Southern Wayne High School	6.2%	9.3%
Eastern Wayne High School	9.8%	6.5%
Goldsboro High School	<5%	<5%
Wayne Middle / High Academy	<5%	<5%
Wayne County Public Schools	11%	14.3%