Hickory Sun

At Alexander County Schools, 99 out of 333 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 rose to 29.7% compared to the previous school year, when 25.7% of students were considered ready for post-secondary education.

Alexander Early College students stood out from schools in Alexander County Schools in reading, with almost 50% of the 12th-graders hitting the ACT benchmark in the 2022-23 school year (19). Meanwhile, students from Alexander Central High School struggled the most on the reading portion, and only 27.1% 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, 36% of Alexander County Schools 12th-graders met English college readiness benchmarks in the 2022-23 school year. In science, 21.3% of students were ready for college, and math scores revealed 18.9% of seniors also met the standard. Overall, Alexander County Schools had an average college readiness of 12.7% 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)
Alexander Early College	45.1%	50%
Alexander Central High School	21.5%	27.1%
Alexander County Schools	25.7%	29.7%