EC North Carolina News

At Lenoir County Public Schools, 47 out of 496 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 9.5% compared to the previous school year, when 7.7% 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 science, with almost 34.7% of the 12th-graders hitting the ACT benchmark in the 2022-23 school year (17). Meanwhile, students from South Lenoir High School struggled the most on the science portion, and only 7.9% 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, 21.2% of Lenoir County Public Schools 12th-graders met English college readiness benchmarks in the 2022-23 school year. In reading, 16.9% of students were ready for college, and math scores revealed 9.3% of seniors also met the standard. Overall, Lenoir County Public Schools had an average college readiness of 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	22%	34.7%
North Lenoir High School	5%	10.5%
South Lenoir High School	11.3%	7.9%
Kinston High School	<5%	<5%
Lenoir County Learning Academy	<5%	<5%
Lenoir County Public Schools	7.7%	9.5%