Foothills Review

At Polk County Schools, 40 out of 120 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 33.3% compared to the previous school year, when 39.7% of students were considered ready for post-secondary education.

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, 40.8% of Polk County Schools 12th-graders met English college readiness benchmarks in the 2022-23 school year. In science, 22.5% of students were ready for college, and math scores revealed 20% of seniors also met the standard. Overall, Polk County Schools had an average college readiness of 18.3% 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 High School	37.5%	33.3%