At Henderson County Schools, 308 out of 944 junior students taking the reading portion of the ACT met the college readiness benchmark in the 2022-23 school year, according to the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction.
Reading scores among the district’s schools dropped to 32.6% compared to the previous school year, when 34.3% of students were considered ready for post-secondary education.
Henderson County Early College students stood out from schools in Henderson County Schools in reading, with almost 75% of the 11th-graders hitting the ACT benchmark in the 2022-23 school year (30). Meanwhile, students from Henderson County Career Academy struggled the most on the reading portion, and only 12.5% were considered ready for college.
For comparison, North Carolina saw 36% of its students meeting or exceeding the ACT benchmarks for reading during the 2022-23 school year.
Besides reading, 42.3% of Henderson County Schools 11th-graders met English college readiness benchmarks in the 2022-23 school year. In science, 23.9% of students were ready for college, and math scores revealed 20.2% of juniors also met the standard. Overall, Henderson County Schools had an average college readiness of 11.8% 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) |
|---|---|---|
| Henderson County Early College | 75.6% | 75% |
| Hendersonville High School | 49.7% | 48.8% |
| West Henderson High School | 39.8% | 33.1% |
| North Henderson High School | 19.1% | 24.8% |
| East Henderson High School | 30% | 23.6% |
| Henderson County Career Academy | 11.8% | 12.5% |
| Henderson County Schools | 34.3% | 32.6% |
