Asheville Reporter

At Haywood County Schools, 121 out of 434 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 27.9% compared to the previous school year, when 26.2% of students were considered ready for post-secondary education.

Haywood Early College students stood out from schools in Haywood County Schools in science, with almost 81.1% of the 11th-graders hitting the ACT benchmark in the 2022-23 school year (30). Meanwhile, students from Tuscola High School struggled the most on the science portion, and only 20.4% 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, 47.5% of Haywood County Schools 11th-graders met English college readiness benchmarks in the 2022-23 school year. In reading, 40.8% of students were ready for college, and math scores revealed 28.3% of juniors also met the standard. Overall, Haywood County Schools had an average college readiness of 16.8% 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)
Haywood Early College	69.7%	81.1%
Pisgah High School	21.6%	25.4%
Tuscola High School	23.6%	20.4%
Central Haywood High School	<5%	<5%
Haywood County Schools	26.2%	27.9%