High Country Times

At Ashe County Schools, 43 out of 162 senior 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 dropped to 26.5% compared to the previous school year, when 38% of students were considered ready for post-secondary education.

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, 34% of Ashe County Schools 12th-graders met English college readiness benchmarks in the 2022-23 school year. In science, 16.7% of students were ready for college, and math scores revealed 13.6% of seniors also met the standard. Overall, Ashe County Schools had an average college readiness of 11.1% 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 High School	33.1%	26.5%