Foothills Review

At Rutherford County Schools, 92 out of 522 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 17.6% compared to the previous school year, when 15.9% of students were considered ready for post-secondary education.

Rutherford Early College High School students stood out from schools in Rutherford County Schools in science, with almost 44.4% of the 12th-graders hitting the ACT benchmark in the 2022-23 school year (20). Meanwhile, students from East Rutherford High School struggled the most on the science portion, and only 14.3% 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, 37.2% of Rutherford County Schools 12th-graders met English college readiness benchmarks in the 2022-23 school year. In reading, 29.9% of students were ready for college, and math scores revealed 20.3% of seniors also met the standard. Overall, Rutherford County Schools had an average college readiness of 12.6% 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)
Rutherford Early College High School	41.7%	44.4%
R-S Central High School	14.5%	17.3%
Chase High School	16.8%	15.3%
East Rutherford High School	9.7%	14.3%
Rutherford Opportunity Center	<5%	<5%
Rutherford County Schools	15.9%	17.6%