South Triangle News

At Harnett County Schools, 377 out of 1,272 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 rose to 29.6% compared to the previous school year, when 28.3% of students were considered ready for post-secondary education.

Harnett County Early College students stood out from schools in Harnett County Schools in reading, with almost 73.9% of the 11th-graders hitting the ACT benchmark in the 2022-23 school year (17). Meanwhile, students from Western Harnett High School struggled the most on the reading portion, and only 24.8% 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, 32.3% of Harnett County Schools 11th-graders met English college readiness benchmarks in the 2022-23 school year. In math, 16.3% 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	52.4%	73.9%
Overhills High School	36.8%	34.5%
Harnett Virtual Academy	21.4%	30.8%
Harnett Central High School	25.5%	28.2%
Triton High School	23.6%	25.6%
Western Harnett High School	24.1%	24.8%
STAR Academy	<5%	<5%
Harnett County Schools	28.3%	29.6%