Hickory Sun

At Newton Conover City Schools, 47 out of 177 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 26.6% compared to the previous school year, when 26.2% of students were considered ready for post-secondary education.

Discovery High School students stood out from schools in Newton Conover City Schools in science, with almost 56.4% of the 11th-graders hitting the ACT benchmark in the 2022-23 school year (31). Meanwhile, students from Newton-Conover High School struggled the most on the science portion, and only 13.1% 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, 40.1% of Newton Conover City Schools 11th-graders met English college readiness benchmarks in the 2022-23 school year. In reading, 31.6% of students were ready for college, and math scores revealed 22% of juniors also met the standard. Overall, Newton Conover City Schools had an average college readiness of 13% 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)
Discovery High School	66.7%	56.4%
Newton-Conover High School	11.9%	13.1%
Newton Conover City Schools	26.2%	26.6%