High Country Times

At Wilkes County Schools, 106 out of 557 senior students taking the science portion of the ACT met the college readiness benchmark in the 2022-23 school year, according to the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction.

Science scores among the district's schools rose to 19% compared to the previous school year, when 15.5% of students were considered ready for post-secondary education.

Wilkes Early College High School students stood out from schools in Wilkes County Schools in science, with almost 52.9% of the 12th-graders hitting the ACT benchmark in the 2022-23 school year (27). Meanwhile, students from East Wilkes High School struggled the most on the science portion, and only 9.7% were considered ready for college.

For comparison, North Carolina saw 26% of its students meeting or exceeding the ACT benchmarks for science during the 2022-23 school year.

Besides science, 30.5% of Wilkes County Schools 12th-graders met English college readiness benchmarks in the 2022-23 school year. In reading, 27.6% of students were ready for college, and math scores revealed 19.7% 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	34.5%	52.9%
Wilkes Central High School	16.3%	19.4%
West Wilkes High School	15.6%	19.2%
North Wilkes High School	5.9%	12.9%
East Wilkes High School	15.2%	9.7%
Wilkes County Schools	15.5%	19%