High Country Times

At Wilkes County Schools, 122 out of 568 junior students taking the math portion of the ACT met the college readiness benchmark in the 2022-23 school year, according to the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction.

Math scores among the district's schools rose to 21.5% compared to the previous school year, when 19.1% of students were considered ready for post-secondary education.

Wilkes Early College High School students stood out from schools in Wilkes County Schools in math, with almost 57.1% of the 11th-graders hitting the ACT benchmark in the 2022-23 school year (28). Meanwhile, students from West Wilkes High School struggled the most on the math portion, and only 12.8% were considered ready for college.

For comparison, North Carolina saw 25% of its students meeting or exceeding the ACT benchmarks for math during the 2022-23 school year.

Besides math, 36.6% of Wilkes County Schools 11th-graders met English college readiness benchmarks in the 2022-23 school year. In reading, 30.5% of students were ready for college, and science scores revealed 22.4% of juniors also met the standard. Overall, Wilkes County Schools had an average college readiness of 11.4% 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)
Wilkes Early College High School	60.8%	57.1%
East Wilkes High School	12.3%	26.9%
North Wilkes High School	12.2%	20.5%
Wilkes Central High School	17.3%	14.5%
West Wilkes High School	17.7%	12.8%
Wilkes County Schools	19.1%	21.5%