North Triangle News

At Franklin County Schools, 122 out of 510 senior 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 23.9% compared to the previous school year, when 26.6% of students were considered ready for post-secondary education.

Franklin County Early College students stood out from schools in Franklin County Schools in reading, with almost 54.3% of the 12th-graders hitting the ACT benchmark in the 2022-23 school year (19). Meanwhile, students from Louisburg High School struggled the most on the reading portion, and only 13.8% 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, 31.2% of Franklin County Schools 12th-graders met English college readiness benchmarks in the 2022-23 school year. In science, 14.9% of students were ready for college, and math scores revealed 12.7% of seniors also met the standard. Overall, Franklin County Schools had an average college readiness of 6.6% 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)
Franklin County Early College	63.6%	54.3%
Franklinton High School	26.6%	26.1%
Bunn High School	21.3%	19.8%
Louisburg High School	18.5%	13.8%
Franklin County Schools	26.6%	23.9%