Union News

At Richmond County Schools, 110 out of 439 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 rose to 25.1% compared to the previous school year, when 21.9% of students were considered ready for post-secondary education.

Richmond Early College High students stood out from schools in Richmond County Schools in English, with almost 70.1% of the 11th-graders hitting the ACT benchmark in the 2022-23 school year (47). Meanwhile, students from Richmond Senior High School struggled the most on the English portion, and only 17.3% 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, 25.1% of Richmond County Schools 11th-graders met reading college readiness benchmarks in the 2022-23 school year. In math, 11.2% of students were ready for college, and science scores revealed 8.9% of juniors also met the standard. Overall, Richmond County Schools had an average college readiness of 5% 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)
Richmond Early College High	58.2%	70.1%
Richmond Senior High School	14.7%	17.3%
Ashley Chapel Educational Center	<5%	<5%
Richmond County Schools	21.9%	25.1%