Outer Banks Times

At Dare County Schools, 97 out of 399 junior 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 24.2% compared to the previous school year, when 21.1% of students were considered ready for post-secondary education.

First Flight High School students stood out from schools in Dare County Schools in science, with almost 27.6% of the 11th-graders hitting the ACT benchmark in the 2022-23 school year (59). Meanwhile, students from Cape Hatteras Secondary School struggled the most on the science portion, and only 12.5% 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, 48.2% of Dare County Schools 11th-graders met English college readiness benchmarks in the 2022-23 school year. In reading, 37.2% of students were ready for college, and math scores revealed 28.9% of juniors also met the standard. Overall, Dare County Schools had an average college readiness of 15.4% 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)
First Flight High School	28.6%	27.6%
Manteo High School	13.2%	24.2%
Cape Hatteras Secondary School	22.2%	12.5%
Dare Learning Academy	<5%	<5%
Dare County Schools	21.1%	24.2%