Foothills Review

At McDowell County Schools, 113 out of 359 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 31.5% compared to the previous school year, when 24.9% of students were considered ready for post-secondary education.

McDowell Early College students stood out from schools in McDowell County Schools in reading, with almost 75% of the 12th-graders hitting the ACT benchmark in the 2022-23 school year (27). Meanwhile, students from McDowell Virtual Academy struggled the most on the reading portion, and only 14.3% 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, 39% of McDowell County Schools 12th-graders met English college readiness benchmarks in the 2022-23 school year. In science, 19.2% of students were ready for college, and math scores revealed 16.4% of seniors also met the standard. Overall, McDowell County Schools had an average college readiness of 9.5% 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)
McDowell Early College	48.4%	75%
McDowell Academy for Innovation	13%	44%
McDowell High School	19.4%	25.7%
McDowell Virtual Academy	<5%	14.3%
McDowell County Schools	24.9%	31.5%