Hickory Sun

At Caldwell County Schools, 216 out of 739 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 dropped to 29.2% compared to the previous school year, when 30.6% of students were considered ready for post-secondary education.

Caldwell Early College students stood out from schools in Caldwell County Schools in reading, with almost 59.8% of the 12th-graders hitting the ACT benchmark in the 2022-23 school year (55). Meanwhile, students from West Caldwell High School struggled the most on the reading portion, and only 15.8% 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, 31.8% of Caldwell County Schools 12th-graders met English college readiness benchmarks in the 2022-23 school year. In science, 17.9% of students were ready for college, and math scores revealed 14.5% of seniors also met the standard. Overall, Caldwell County Schools had an average college readiness of 9.9% 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)
Caldwell Early College	53%	59.8%
Caldwell Applied Sciences Academy	37.2%	37.3%
South Caldwell High School	30.6%	27.1%
Hibriten High School	30.8%	26.1%
West Caldwell High School	14.8%	15.8%
Gateway School	<5%	<5%
Caldwell County Schools	30.6%	29.2%