Greenville Reporter

At Pitt County Schools, 276 out of 1,367 senior 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 rose to 20.2% compared to the previous school year, when 19.5% of students were considered ready for post-secondary education.

Innovation Early College High students stood out from schools in Pitt County Schools in science, with almost 55.6% of the 12th-graders hitting the ACT benchmark in the 2022-23 school year (25). Meanwhile, students from North Pitt High School struggled the most on the science portion, and only 6% 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, 31.3% of Pitt County Schools 12th-graders met English college readiness benchmarks in the 2022-23 school year. In reading, 28.2% of students were ready for college, and math scores revealed 20.1% of seniors also met the standard. Overall, Pitt County Schools had an average college readiness of 12.8% 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	39.6%	55.6%
Junius H. Rose High School	26.6%	29.5%
D. H. Conley High School	27%	25.2%
Ayden-Grifton High School	6.4%	15.4%
South Central	16.4%	13.6%
Farmville Central High School	13.1%	11.6%
North Pitt High School	<5%	6%
Pitt County Schools	19.5%	20.2%