At Henderson County Schools, 399 out of 944 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 rose to 42.3% compared to the previous school year, when 36.7% of students were considered ready for post-secondary education.
Henderson County Early College students stood out from schools in Henderson County Schools in English, with almost 85% of the 11th-graders hitting the ACT benchmark in the 2022-23 school year (34). Meanwhile, students from Henderson County Career Academy struggled the most on the English portion, and only 23.1% 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 Henderson County Schools 11th-graders met reading 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 | 85.4% | 85% |
| Hendersonville High School | 54.6% | 61.9% |
| North Henderson High School | 23% | 39.1% |
| West Henderson High School | 41.9% | 37.4% |
| East Henderson High School | 27.4% | 31.6% |
| Henderson County Career Academy | 11.8% | 23.1% |
| Henderson County Schools | 36.7% | 42.3% |
