Onslow News

At Onslow County Schools, 690 out of 1,688 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 40.9% compared to the previous school year, when 40.8% of students were considered ready for post-secondary education.

Onslow Virtual Secondary students stood out from schools in Onslow County Schools in English, with almost 51.3% of the 12th-graders hitting the ACT benchmark in the 2022-23 school year (40). Meanwhile, students from Northside High School struggled the most on the English portion, and only 31.3% 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, 34.2% of Onslow County Schools 12th-graders met reading college readiness benchmarks in the 2022-23 school year. In math, 19.1% of students were ready for college, and science scores revealed 18.7% of seniors also met the standard. Overall, Onslow County Schools had an average college readiness of 10.7% 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)
Onslow Virtual Secondary	33.6%	51.3%
Dixon High School	46.7%	48.5%
Swansboro High School	46.6%	47.5%
Richlands High School	36.5%	41.3%
Jacksonville High School	39.2%	37.4%
Southwest High School	32.5%	34.4%
White Oak High School	36.1%	32.6%
Northside High School	39.1%	31.3%
Onslow Early College	>95%	>95%
Onslow County Schools	40.8%	40.9%