At Onslow County Schools, 683 out of 1,752 junior 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 dropped to 39% compared to the previous school year, when 41.1% of students were considered ready for post-secondary education.
Swansboro High School students stood out from schools in Onslow County Schools in English, with almost 48% of the 11th-graders hitting the ACT benchmark in the 2022-23 school year (109). Meanwhile, students from Northside High School struggled the most on the English portion, and only 29.3% 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, 36.2% of Onslow County Schools 11th-graders met reading college readiness benchmarks in the 2022-23 school year. In math, 20.1% of students were ready for college, and science scores revealed 18.9% of juniors also met the standard. Overall, Onslow County Schools had an average college readiness of 12.1% 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) |
|---|---|---|
| Swansboro High School | 47.9% | 48% |
| Dixon High School | 47.8% | 43.6% |
| Onslow Virtual Secondary | 51.3% | 39.4% |
| Southwest High School | 35.1% | 37.4% |
| Jacksonville High School | 38.2% | 37.2% |
| Richlands High School | 40.6% | 34.4% |
| White Oak High School | 33.5% | 31.8% |
| Northside High School | 31.3% | 29.3% |
| Onslow Early College | <5% | <5% |
| Onslow County Schools | 41.1% | 39% |
