Rowan News

At Rowan-Salisbury Schools, 240 out of 1,314 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 dropped to 18.3% compared to the previous school year, when 22.4% of students were considered ready for post-secondary education.

Rowan County Early College students stood out from schools in Rowan-Salisbury Schools in reading, with almost 41.1% of the 11th-graders hitting the ACT benchmark in the 2022-23 school year (23). Meanwhile, students from North Rowan High School struggled the most on the reading portion, and only 10% 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, 23.5% of Rowan-Salisbury Schools 11th-graders met English college readiness benchmarks in the 2022-23 school year. In science, 10.1% of students were ready for college, and math scores revealed 6.9% of juniors also met the standard. Overall, Rowan-Salisbury Schools had an average college readiness of less than 5% 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)
Rowan County Early College	43.3%	41.1%
Carson High School	28%	27.5%
East Rowan High School	26%	18.1%
South Rowan High School	17%	17.4%
West Rowan High School	18%	13.8%
Salisbury High School	21.6%	12.4%
North Rowan High School	12.7%	10%
Henderson High School	<5%	<5%
Rowan-Salisbury Schools	22.4%	18.3%