Hickory Sun

At Caldwell County Schools, 132 out of 739 senior 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 17.9% compared to the previous school year, when 15.8% of students were considered ready for post-secondary education.

Caldwell Early College students stood out from schools in Caldwell County Schools in science, with almost 46.7% of the 12th-graders hitting the ACT benchmark in the 2022-23 school year (43). Meanwhile, students from West Caldwell High School struggled the most on the science portion, and only 6.3% 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, 31.8% of Caldwell County Schools 12th-graders met English college readiness benchmarks in the 2022-23 school year. In reading, 29.2% 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	36.4%	46.7%
Caldwell Applied Sciences Academy	25.6%	37.3%
Hibriten High School	13.1%	13.7%
South Caldwell High School	15.8%	13.7%
West Caldwell High School	5.2%	6.3%
Gateway School	<5%	<5%
Caldwell County Schools	15.8%	17.9%