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
Science scores among the district's schools dropped to 18.9% compared to the previous school year, when 27.5% of students were considered ready for post-secondary education.
Jackson County Early College students stood out from schools in Jackson County Public Schools in science, with almost 39.1% of the 11th-graders hitting the ACT benchmark in the 2022-23 school year (9). Meanwhile, students from Blue Ridge Early College struggled the most on the science portion, and only 8% 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, 42.4% of Jackson County Public Schools 11th-graders met English college readiness benchmarks in the 2022-23 school year. In reading, 31.8% of students were ready for college, and math scores revealed 27.2% of juniors also met the standard. Overall, Jackson County Public Schools had an average college readiness of 14.5% 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) |
|---|---|---|
| Jackson County Early College | 78.3% | 39.1% |
| Smoky Mountain High School | 26.1% | 20.1% |
| Blue Ridge Early College | 6.7% | 8% |
| Jackson Community School | <5% | <5% |
| Jackson County Public Schools | 27.5% | 18.9% |
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