EC North Carolina News

At Sampson County Schools, 82 out of 466 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 17.6% compared to the previous school year, when 11.2% of students were considered ready for post-secondary education.

Sampson Early College High students stood out from schools in Sampson County Schools in science, with almost 33.3% of the 12th-graders hitting the ACT benchmark in the 2022-23 school year (19). Meanwhile, students from Union High School struggled the most on the science portion, and only 8.7% 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, 29.4% of Sampson County Schools 12th-graders met English college readiness benchmarks in the 2022-23 school year. In reading, 26% of students were ready for college, and math scores revealed 14.2% of seniors also met the standard. Overall, Sampson County Schools had an average college readiness of 8.7% 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)
Sampson Early College High	38.9%	33.3%
Midway High School	14%	23.7%
Lakewood High School	<5%	14%
Hobbton High School	<5%	8.9%
Union High School	<5%	8.7%
Sampson County Schools	11.2%	17.6%