Greenville Reporter

At Pitt County Schools, 520 out of 1,477 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 the district's schools rose to 35.2% compared to the previous school year, when 32.2% of students were considered ready for post-secondary education.

Innovation Early College High students stood out from schools in Pitt County Schools in English, with almost 80.5% of the 11th-graders hitting the ACT benchmark in the 2022-23 school year (33). Meanwhile, students from North Pitt High School struggled the most on the English portion, and only 17.1% were considered ready for college.

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, 29.9% of Pitt County Schools 11th-graders met reading college readiness benchmarks in the 2022-23 school year. In math, 24.8% of students were ready for college, and science scores revealed 20% of juniors also met the standard. Overall, Pitt County Schools had an average college readiness of 13.6% 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)
Innovation Early College High	83.7%	80.5%
PCS Early College High School	54.7%	55.6%
D. H. Conley High School	36.6%	44.8%
Junius H. Rose High School	48.1%	43.8%
Ayden-Grifton High School	27.1%	27.3%
South Central	20.7%	25.7%
Farmville Central High School	15.7%	19.7%
North Pitt High School	11.5%	17.1%
Pitt County Schools	32.2%	35.2%