Asheville Reporter

At Asheville City Schools, 146 out of 317 junior 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 46.1% compared to the previous school year, when 39.7% of students were considered ready for post-secondary education.

School of Inquiry and Life Sciences students stood out from schools in Asheville City Schools in science, with almost 50.7% of the 11th-graders hitting the ACT benchmark in the 2022-23 school year (38). Meanwhile, students from Asheville High School struggled the most on the science portion, and only 44.6% 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, 66.9% of Asheville City Schools 11th-graders met English college readiness benchmarks in the 2022-23 school year. In reading, 58.7% of students were ready for college, and math scores revealed 43.2% of juniors also met the standard. Overall, Asheville City Schools had an average college readiness of 35.3% 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)
School of Inquiry and Life Sciences	44.9%	50.7%
Asheville High School	37.9%	44.6%
Asheville City Schools	39.7%	46.1%