High Country Times

At Mitchell County Schools, 43 out of 122 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 35.2% compared to the previous school year, when 31.6% of students were considered ready for post-secondary education.

Mayland Early College students stood out from schools in Mitchell County Schools in reading, with almost 50% of the 11th-graders hitting the ACT benchmark in the 2022-23 school year (10). Meanwhile, students from Mitchell High School struggled the most on the reading portion, and only 32.4% 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, 44.3% of Mitchell County Schools 11th-graders met English college readiness benchmarks in the 2022-23 school year. In math, 20.5% of students were ready for college, and science scores revealed 17.2% of juniors also met the standard. Overall, Mitchell County Schools had an average college readiness of 11.5% 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)
Mayland Early College	39.3%	50%
Mitchell High School	29.5%	32.4%
Mitchell County Schools	31.6%	35.2%