High Country Times

At Watauga County Schools, 156 out of 335 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 46.6% compared to the previous school year, when 51.1% of students were considered ready for post-secondary education.

Watauga High School students stood out from schools in Watauga County Schools in reading, with almost 49.1% of the 12th-graders hitting the ACT benchmark in the 2022-23 school year (132). Meanwhile, students from Watauga Innovation Academy struggled the most on the reading portion, and only 36.4% 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, 54.3% of Watauga County Schools 12th-graders met English college readiness benchmarks in the 2022-23 school year. In science, 36.1% of students were ready for college, and math scores revealed 29% of seniors also met the standard. Overall, Watauga County Schools had an average college readiness of 21.8% 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)
Watauga High School	54.3%	49.1%
Watauga Innovation Academy	37.5%	36.4%
Watauga County Schools	51.1%	46.6%