Catherine Truitt North Carolina Superintendent of Public Instruction | North Carolina Department of Public Instruction website
Catherine Truitt North Carolina Superintendent of Public Instruction | North Carolina Department of Public Instruction website
English scores among the district's schools rose to 52.6% compared to the previous school year, when 41.4% of students were considered ready for post-secondary education.
Polk County Early College students stood out from schools in Polk County Schools in English, with almost 64.7% of the 11th-graders hitting the ACT benchmark in the 2022-23 school year (11). Meanwhile, students from Polk County High School struggled the most on the English portion, and only 50.8% were considered ready for college.
For comparison, North Carolina saw 41% of its students meeting or exceeding the ACT benchmarks for English during the 2022-23 school year.
Besides English, 41.5% of Polk County Schools 11th-graders met reading college readiness benchmarks in the 2022-23 school year. In science, 37.8% of students were ready for college, and math scores revealed 28.1% of juniors also met the standard. Overall, Polk County Schools had an average college readiness of 20.7% 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) |
|---|---|---|
| Polk County Early College | 66.7% | 64.7% |
| Polk County High School | 37.7% | 50.8% |
| Polk County Schools | 41.4% | 52.6% |
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