IBX News

At Beaufort County Schools, 69 out of 419 junior 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 dropped to 16.5% compared to the previous school year, when 18.8% of students were considered ready for post-secondary education.

Beaufort County Early College High students stood out from schools in Beaufort County Schools in science, with almost 40% of the 11th-graders hitting the ACT benchmark in the 2022-23 school year (22). Meanwhile, students from Washington High School struggled the most on the science portion, and only 8.3% 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, 27.7% of Beaufort County Schools 11th-graders met English college readiness benchmarks in the 2022-23 school year. In reading, 23.7% of students were ready for college, and math scores revealed 16.9% of juniors also met the standard. Overall, Beaufort County Schools had an average college readiness of 8.4% 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)
Beaufort County Early College High	41.2%	40%
Northside High School	19.5%	19.8%
Southside High School	20.2%	16.5%
Washington High School	11%	8.3%
B C Education Technology Center	<5%	<5%
Beaufort County Schools	18.8%	16.5%