Onslow News

At Onslow County Schools, 352 out of 1,752 junior students taking the math portion of the ACT met the college readiness benchmark in the 2022-23 school year, according to the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction.

Math scores among the district's schools rose to 20.1% compared to the previous school year, when 19.4% of students were considered ready for post-secondary education.

Onslow Early College students stood out from schools in Onslow County Schools in math, with almost 93.5% of the 11th-graders hitting the ACT benchmark in the 2022-23 school year (43). Meanwhile, students from Onslow Virtual Secondary struggled the most on the math portion, and only 6.1% were considered ready for college.

For comparison, North Carolina saw 25% of its students meeting or exceeding the ACT benchmarks for math during the 2022-23 school year.

Besides math, 39% of Onslow County Schools 11th-graders met English college readiness benchmarks in the 2022-23 school year. In reading, 36.2% 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)
Onslow Early College	89.4%	93.5%
Swansboro High School	27.4%	32.2%
Dixon High School	16.9%	19.2%
Jacksonville High School	18.1%	17.9%
White Oak High School	15.2%	17.6%
Richlands High School	15.9%	16.7%
Southwest High School	13.9%	14.2%
Northside High School	15.6%	11.4%
Onslow Virtual Secondary	10.3%	6.1%
Onslow County Schools	19.4%	20.1%