Outer Banks Times

At Currituck County Schools, 79 out of 267 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 rose to 29.6% compared to the previous school year, when 23.6% 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 science, with almost 44.2% of the 12th-graders hitting the ACT benchmark in the 2022-23 school year (23). Meanwhile, students from Currituck County High School struggled the most on the science portion, and only 26% 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, 50.6% of Currituck County Schools 12th-graders met English college readiness benchmarks in the 2022-23 school year. In reading, 43.4% of students were ready for college, and math scores revealed 26.2% of seniors also met the standard. Overall, Currituck County Schools had an average college readiness of 18.5% 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)
The JP Knapp ECH (i) School	41.2%	44.2%
Currituck County High School	17.4%	26%
Currituck County Schools	23.6%	29.6%