Catherine Truitt North Carolina Superintendent of Public Instruction | North Carolina Department of Public Instruction website
Catherine Truitt North Carolina Superintendent of Public Instruction | North Carolina Department of Public Instruction website
English scores among the district's schools dropped to 44.8% compared to the previous school year, when 47.9% of students were considered ready for post-secondary education.
Pender Early College High students stood out from schools in Pender County Schools in English, with almost 78.4% of the 11th-graders hitting the ACT benchmark in the 2022-23 school year (40). Meanwhile, students from Pender High School struggled the most on the English portion, and only 20.3% 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, 39.2% of Pender County Schools 11th-graders met reading college readiness benchmarks in the 2022-23 school year. In science, 28.1% of students were ready for college, and math scores revealed 26.4% of juniors also met the standard. Overall, Pender County Schools had an average college readiness of 17.5% 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) |
|---|---|---|
| Pender Early College High | 77.8% | 78.4% |
| Topsail High School | 63.2% | 58% |
| Pender Innovative Learning Academy | 34.4% | 31.6% |
| Heide Trask High School | 23.5% | 23.5% |
| Pender High School | 20.6% | 20.3% |
| Pender County Schools | 47.9% | 44.8% |
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