Outer Banks Times

At Currituck County Schools, 101 out of 280 junior 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 dropped to 36.1% compared to the previous school year, when 43.9% of students were considered ready for post-secondary education.

The JP Knapp ECH (i) School students stood out from schools in Currituck County Schools in reading, with almost 47.6% of the 11th-graders hitting the ACT benchmark in the 2022-23 school year (30). Meanwhile, students from Currituck County High School struggled the most on the reading portion, and only 32.7% 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, 48.6% of Currituck County Schools 11th-graders met English college readiness benchmarks in the 2022-23 school year. In math, 24.3% of students were ready for college, and science scores revealed 21.1% of juniors also met the standard. Overall, Currituck County Schools had an average college readiness of 14.3% 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)
The JP Knapp ECH (i) School	54.7%	47.6%
Currituck County High School	41.2%	32.7%
Currituck County Schools	43.9%	36.1%