South Triangle News

At Harnett County Schools, 202 out of 1,225 senior students taking the science portion of the ACT met the college readiness benchmark in the 2022-23 school year, according to the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction.

Science scores among the district's schools rose to 16.5% compared to the previous school year, when 14.4% of students were considered ready for post-secondary education.

Overhills High School students stood out from schools in Harnett County Schools in science, with almost 21.3% of the 12th-graders hitting the ACT benchmark in the 2022-23 school year (77). Meanwhile, students from Triton High School struggled the most on the science portion, and only 10.9% were considered ready for college.

For comparison, North Carolina saw 26% of its students meeting or exceeding the ACT benchmarks for science during the 2022-23 school year.

Besides science, 33.1% of Harnett County Schools 12th-graders met English college readiness benchmarks in the 2022-23 school year. In reading, 28% of students were ready for college, and math scores revealed 13.8% of seniors also met the standard. Overall, Harnett County Schools had an average college readiness of 8.8% 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)
Overhills High School	14%	21.3%
Harnett Central High School	13.7%	16.9%
Western Harnett High School	15%	15.8%
Harnett Virtual Academy	<5%	11.1%
Triton High School	13.6%	10.9%
STAR Academy	<5%	<5%
Harnett County Schools	14.4%	16.5%