EC North Carolina News

At Lenoir County Public Schools, 92 out of 602 junior students taking the English portion of the ACT met the college readiness benchmark in the 2022-23 school year, according to the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction.

English scores among the district's schools dropped to 15.3% compared to the previous school year, when 21.1% of students were considered ready for post-secondary education.

Lenoir County Early College High students stood out from schools in Lenoir County Public Schools in English, with almost 59.6% of the 11th-graders hitting the ACT benchmark in the 2022-23 school year (28). Meanwhile, students from North Lenoir High School struggled the most on the English portion, and only 13.5% were considered ready for college.

For comparison, North Carolina saw 41% of its students meeting or exceeding the ACT benchmarks for English during the 2022-23 school year.

Besides English, 12.8% of Lenoir County Public Schools 11th-graders met reading college readiness benchmarks in the 2022-23 school year. In science, 7.7% of students were ready for college, and math scores revealed 7% of juniors also met the standard. Overall, Lenoir 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)
Lenoir County Early College High	78.7%	59.6%
South Lenoir High School	16.9%	19.1%
North Lenoir High School	22.1%	13.5%
Kinston High School	<5%	<5%
Lenoir County Learning Academy	<5%	<5%
Lenoir County Public Schools	21.1%	15.3%