At Surry County Schools, 223 out of 536 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 41.6% compared to the previous school year, when 44% of students were considered ready for post-secondary education.
Surry Early College students stood out from schools in Surry County Schools in English, with almost 73.8% of the 11th-graders hitting the ACT benchmark in the 2022-23 school year (45). Meanwhile, students from North Surry High School struggled the most on the English portion, and only 35.8% 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, 32.6% of Surry County Schools 11th-graders met reading college readiness benchmarks in the 2022-23 school year. In math, 23.3% of students were ready for college, and science scores revealed 20.7% of juniors also met the standard. Overall, Surry County Schools had an average college readiness of 12.3% 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) |
|---|---|---|
| Surry Early College | 73.6% | 73.8% |
| Surry Online Magnet School | 21.1% | 40.9% |
| Surry Central High School | 39.4% | 39.2% |
| East Surry High School | 56.9% | 37.3% |
| North Surry High School | 28.7% | 35.8% |
| Surry County Schools | 44% | 41.6% |
