Onslow News

At Onslow County Schools, 577 out of 1,688 senior students taking the reading portion of the ACT met the college readiness benchmark in the 2022-23 school year, according to the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction.

Reading scores among the district's schools dropped to 34.2% compared to the previous school year, when 35.5% of students were considered ready for post-secondary education.

Onslow Early College students stood out from schools in Onslow County Schools in reading, with almost 87% 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 reading portion, and only 23.8% were considered ready for college.

For comparison, North Carolina saw 36% of its students meeting or exceeding the ACT benchmarks for reading during the 2022-23 school year.

Besides reading, 40.9% of Onslow County Schools 12th-graders met English 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 Early College	87.5%	87%
Onslow Virtual Secondary	30.6%	41%
Swansboro High School	37%	40.7%
Dixon High School	41.3%	40.6%
Jacksonville High School	33.5%	34.3%
Richlands High School	29.5%	29.6%
White Oak High School	29.3%	29.2%
Southwest High School	22.2%	29.1%
Northside High School	43.8%	23.8%
Onslow County Schools	35.5%	34.2%