Greenville Reporter

At Pitt County Schools, 366 out of 1,477 junior students taking the math portion of the ACT met the college readiness benchmark in the 2022-23 school year, according to the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction.

Math scores among the district's schools rose to 24.8% compared to the previous school year, when 20.7% of students were considered ready for post-secondary education.

Innovation Early College High students stood out from schools in Pitt County Schools in math, with almost 56.1% of the 11th-graders hitting the ACT benchmark in the 2022-23 school year (23). Meanwhile, students from North Pitt High School struggled the most on the math portion, and only 7.9% were considered ready for college.

For comparison, North Carolina saw 25% of its students meeting or exceeding the ACT benchmarks for math during the 2022-23 school year.

Besides math, 35.2% of Pitt County Schools 11th-graders met English college readiness benchmarks in the 2022-23 school year. In reading, 29.9% 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	48.8%	56.1%
PCS Early College High School	34.4%	44.4%
D. H. Conley High School	27.9%	40.2%
Junius H. Rose High School	29.4%	33.1%
South Central	14.9%	13.9%
Ayden-Grifton High School	10.2%	10%
Farmville Central High School	6.6%	8%
North Pitt High School	6.9%	7.9%
Pitt County Schools	20.7%	24.8%