Gastonia Times

At Lincoln County Schools, 373 out of 808 senior 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 the district's schools rose to 46.2% compared to the previous school year, when 38.7% of students were considered ready for post-secondary education.

North Lincoln High School students stood out from schools in Lincoln County Schools in English, with almost 62.4% of the 12th-graders hitting the ACT benchmark in the 2022-23 school year (148). Meanwhile, students from West Lincoln High School struggled the most on the English portion, and only 29.7% were considered ready for college.

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, 41.5% of Lincoln County Schools 12th-graders met reading college readiness benchmarks in the 2022-23 school year. In math, 30.1% of students were ready for college, and science scores revealed 29.8% of seniors also met the standard. Overall, Lincoln County Schools had an average college readiness of 19.8% 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)
North Lincoln High School	46.6%	62.4%
East Lincoln High School	43.3%	50.9%
Lincolnton High School	31.5%	34.1%
West Lincoln High School	27.2%	29.7%
Asbury Academy	<5%	<5%
Lincoln County Schools	38.7%	46.2%