High Country Times

At the only school in Avery County Schools, 46 out of 150 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 students at Avery County High School, the only school in Avery County Schools, dropped to 30.9% compared to the previous school year, when 32.5% of students were considered ready for post-secondary education.

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, 30.7% of Avery County Schools 11th-graders met English college readiness benchmarks in the 2022-23 school year. In science, 20.7% of students were ready for college, and math scores revealed 15.3% of juniors also met the standard. Overall, Avery County Schools had an average college readiness of 8.7% 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)
Avery County High School	33.3%	30.9%