High Country Times

At Wilkes County Schools, 154 out of 557 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 27.6% compared to the previous school year, when 29% of students were considered ready for post-secondary education.

Wilkes Early College High School students stood out from schools in Wilkes County Schools in reading, with almost 64.7% of the 12th-graders hitting the ACT benchmark in the 2022-23 school year (33). Meanwhile, students from East Wilkes High School struggled the most on the reading portion, and only 19.5% 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, 30.5% of Wilkes County Schools 12th-graders met English college readiness benchmarks in the 2022-23 school year. In math, 19.7% of students were ready for college, and science scores revealed 19% of seniors also met the standard. Overall, Wilkes County Schools had an average college readiness of 12% 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	47.3%	64.7%
West Wilkes High School	34.9%	29.6%
Wilkes Central High School	31%	24.3%
North Wilkes High School	16.9%	21.8%
East Wilkes High School	22.8%	19.5%
Wilkes County Schools	29%	27.6%