Greenville Reporter

At Greene County Schools, 13 out of 184 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 7.1% compared to the previous school year, when 9% of students were considered ready for post-secondary education.

Greene Early College High students stood out from schools in Greene County Schools in science, with almost 17.2% of the 11th-graders hitting the ACT benchmark in the 2022-23 school year (5). Meanwhile, students from Greene Central High School struggled the most on the science portion, and only 5.2% 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, 17.4% of Greene County Schools 11th-graders met English college readiness benchmarks in the 2022-23 school year. In reading, 12.5% of students were ready for college, and math scores revealed less than 5% of juniors also met the standard. Overall, Greene County 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)
Greene Early College High	18.9%	17.2%
Greene Central High School	6.4%	5.2%
Greene County Schools	9%	7.1%