South Triangle News

At Harnett County Schools, 207 out of 1,272 junior students taking the math portion of the ACT met the college readiness benchmark in the 2022-23 school year, according to the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction.

Math scores among the district's schools rose to 16.3% compared to the previous school year, when 14.3% of students were considered ready for post-secondary education.

Harnett County Early College students stood out from schools in Harnett County Schools in math, with almost 39.1% of the 11th-graders hitting the ACT benchmark in the 2022-23 school year (9). Meanwhile, students from Harnett Virtual Academy struggled the most on the math portion, and only 7.7% 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, 32.3% of Harnett County Schools 11th-graders met English college readiness benchmarks in the 2022-23 school year. In reading, 29.6% of students were ready for college, and science scores revealed 13.9% of juniors also met the standard. Overall, Harnett County Schools had an average college readiness of 8.7% 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)
Harnett County Early College	19%	39.1%
Overhills High School	18.1%	17.1%
Triton High School	13.9%	16.1%
Western Harnett High School	12.7%	15.6%
Harnett Central High School	12.6%	15.1%
Harnett Virtual Academy	<5%	7.7%
STAR Academy	<5%	<5%
Harnett County Schools	14.3%	16.3%