Asheville Reporter

At Madison County Schools, 50 out of 140 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 rose to 35.7% compared to the previous school year, when 32.1% of students were considered ready for post-secondary education.

Madison High School students stood out from schools in Madison County Schools in reading, with almost 37.3% of the 12th-graders hitting the ACT benchmark in the 2022-23 school year (31). Meanwhile, students from Madison Early College High struggled the most on the reading portion, and 33.3% 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, 33.6% of Madison County Schools 12th-graders met English college readiness benchmarks in the 2022-23 school year. In science, 25.7% of students were ready for college, and math scores revealed 17.1% of seniors also met the standard. Overall, Madison County Schools had an average college readiness of 13.3% 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)
Madison High School	22.5%	37.3%
Madison Early College High	57.7%	33.3%
Madison County Schools	32.1%	35.7%