IBX News

At the only school in Gates County Schools, 39 out of 116 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 students at Gates County Senior High School, the only school in Gates County Schools, rose to 33.9% compared to the previous school year, when 30.8% of students were considered ready for post-secondary education.

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, 25.9% of Gates County Schools 11th-graders met reading college readiness benchmarks in the 2022-23 school year. In science, 20.7% of students were ready for college, and math scores revealed 18.1% of juniors also met the standard. Overall, Gates County Schools had an average college readiness of 9.6% 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)
Gates County Senior High School	30.8%	33.9%