Hickory Sun

In the 2022-23 school year, 442 out of 1,552 Catawba County junior 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 28.4%, a decline of 4.6% from the previous school year when 33% of students were considered ready for post-secondary education.

Countywide, Catawba County Schools students stood out in Reading, with almost 29.3% of the 11th-graders hitting the ACT benchmark in the 2022-23 school year (328). Meanwhile, students from Newton Conover City Schools struggled the most on the Reading portion, and 31.6% 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, 38.4% of Catawba County 11th-graders met English college readiness benchmarks in the 2022-23 school year. On Science, 23.3% of students were ready for college, and Math scores revealed 19.7% of juniors also met the standard. Overall, Catawba County had an average college readiness of 11.5% 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)
Catawba County Schools	33%	29.3%
Hickory City Schools	28.6%	22.5%
Newton Conover City Schools	39.6%	31.6%
Catawba County	33%	28.4%