Nantahala News

At the only school in Graham County Schools, 17 out of 68 junior students taking the English portion of the ACT met the college readiness benchmark in the 2022-23 school year, according to the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction.

English scores among students at Robbinsville High School, the only school in Graham County Schools, dropped to 25% compared to the previous school year, when 26.7% of students were considered ready for post-secondary education.

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, 25% of Graham County Schools 11th-graders met reading college readiness benchmarks in the 2022-23 school year. In math, 10.3% of students were ready for college, and science scores revealed 10.3% of juniors also met the standard. Overall, Graham County Schools had an average college readiness of less than 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)
Robbinsville High School	26.7%	25%