High Country Times

At Ashe County Schools, 72 out of 188 junior 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 rose to 38.3% compared to the previous school year, when 30.9% of students were considered ready for post-secondary education.

Ashe County Early College High students stood out from schools in Ashe County Schools in reading, with almost 59.1% of the 11th-graders hitting the ACT benchmark in the 2022-23 school year (13). Meanwhile, students from Ashe County High School struggled the most on the reading portion, and only 35.5% 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, 48.4% of Ashe County Schools 11th-graders met English college readiness benchmarks in the 2022-23 school year. In math, 28.7% of students were ready for college, and science scores revealed 27.7% of juniors also met the standard. Overall, Ashe County Schools had an average college readiness of 18.6% 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)
Ashe County Early College High	57.6%	59.1%
Ashe County High School	25.3%	35.5%
Ashe County Schools	30.9%	38.3%