Greenville Reporter

At Greene County Schools, 28 out of 186 senior students taking the reading portion of the ACT met the college readiness benchmark in the 2022-23 school year, according to the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction.

Reading scores among the district's schools dropped to 15.1% compared to the previous school year, when 17.6% of students were considered ready for post-secondary education.

Greene Early College High students stood out from schools in Greene County Schools in reading, with almost 35.1% of the 12th-graders hitting the ACT benchmark in the 2022-23 school year (13). Meanwhile, students from Greene Central High School struggled the most on the reading portion, and only 10.1% were considered ready for college.

For comparison, North Carolina saw 36% of its students meeting or exceeding the ACT benchmarks for reading during the 2022-23 school year.

Besides reading, 18.3% of Greene County Schools 12th-graders met English college readiness benchmarks in the 2022-23 school year. In math, 8.6% of students were ready for college, and science scores revealed 8.6% of seniors also met the standard. Overall, Greene County Schools had an average college readiness of 12.1% 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)
Greene Early College High	35.3%	35.1%
Greene Central High School	12.6%	10.1%
Greene County Schools	17.6%	15.1%