Asheville Reporter

In the 2022-23 school year, 827 out of 2,010 Buncombe County senior students taking the Reading portion of the ACT met the college readiness benchmark, according to the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction.

In the 2022-23 school year, Reading scores among the county districts dropped to 41.1%, a decline of 0.4% from the previous school year when 41.5% of students were considered ready for post-secondary education.

Countywide, Asheville City Schools students stood out in Reading, with almost 51.1% of the 12th-graders hitting the ACT benchmark in the 2022-23 school year (188). Meanwhile, students from Buncombe County Schools struggled the most on the Reading portion, and only 38.9% were considered ready for college.

For comparison, North Carolina saw 33.4% of its students meeting or exceeding the ACT benchmarks for Reading during this year.

Beyond Reading, 47.2% of Buncombe County 12th-graders met English college readiness benchmarks in the 2022-23 school year. On Science, 28.5% of students were ready for college, and Math scores revealed 25.6% of seniors also met the standard. Overall, Buncombe County had an average college readiness of 18.4% 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%.

District	Met or Exceeded Benchmarks (2021-22)	Met or Exceeded Benchmarks (2022-23)
Asheville City Schools	52.4%	51.1%
Buncombe County Schools	39.3%	38.9%
Buncombe County	41.5%	41.1%