South North Carolina News

At Public Schools of Robeson County, 146 out of 1,160 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 12.6% compared to the previous school year, when 13.8% of students were considered ready for post-secondary education.

PSRC Early College at RCC students stood out from schools in Public Schools of Robeson County in English, with almost 61.9% of the 11th-graders hitting the ACT benchmark in the 2022-23 school year (26). Meanwhile, students from Purnell Swett High School struggled the most on the English portion, and only 6.8% 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, 10.9% of Public Schools of Robeson County 11th-graders met reading college readiness benchmarks in the 2022-23 school year. In math, less than 5% of students were ready for college, and science scores revealed less than 5% of juniors also met the standard. Overall, Public Schools of Robeson County had an average college readiness of less than 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)
PSRC Early College at RCC	73.8%	61.9%
Lumberton Senior High School	14.6%	14.6%
Saint Pauls High School	11.4%	11.9%
Fairmont High School	10.7%	10.4%
Red Springs High School	7.8%	10.4%
Purnell Swett High School	10.7%	6.8%
Public Schools of Robeson County	13.8%	12.6%