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
Math scores among the district's schools rose to 25.6% compared to the previous school year, when 24.1% of students were considered ready for post-secondary education.
Pender Early College High students stood out from schools in Pender County Schools in math, with almost 44.4% of the 12th-graders hitting the ACT benchmark in the 2022-23 school year (24). Meanwhile, students from Pender High School struggled the most on the math portion, and only 5.5% 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, 48.2% of Pender County Schools 12th-graders met English college readiness benchmarks in the 2022-23 school year. In reading, 40.7% of students were ready for college, and science scores revealed 26.9% of seniors also met the standard. Overall, Pender County Schools had an average college readiness of 16.4% 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 | 51% | 44.4% |
| Topsail High School | 31.2% | 37% |
| Heide Trask High School | 9.2% | 10.9% |
| Pender Innovative Learning Academy | 0% | 6.3% |
| Pender High School | 9.5% | 5.5% |
| Pender County Schools | 24.1% | 25.6% |
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