Outer Banks Times

At Dare County Schools, 88 out of 411 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 dropped to 21.4% compared to the previous school year, when 28.3% 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 28.4% of the 12th-graders hitting the ACT benchmark in the 2022-23 school year (58). Meanwhile, students from Manteo High School struggled the most on the science portion, and only 14.4% 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, 46.7% of Dare County Schools 12th-graders met English college readiness benchmarks in the 2022-23 school year. In reading, 37.5% of students were ready for college, and math scores revealed 26.3% of seniors also met the standard. Overall, Dare County Schools had an average college readiness of 15.6% 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)
First Flight High School	36.8%	28.4%
Cape Hatteras Secondary School	18.8%	21.6%
Manteo High School	22.4%	14.4%
Dare Learning Academy	<5%	<5%
Dare County Schools	28.3%	21.4%