Rowan News

At Rowan-Salisbury Schools, 133 out of 1,314 junior 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 dropped to 10.1% compared to the previous school year, when 12.2% of students were considered ready for post-secondary education.

Rowan County Early College students stood out from schools in Rowan-Salisbury Schools in science, with almost 23.2% of the 11th-graders hitting the ACT benchmark in the 2022-23 school year (13). Meanwhile, students from West Rowan High School struggled the most on the science portion, and only 6.9% 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, 23.5% of Rowan-Salisbury Schools 11th-graders met English college readiness benchmarks in the 2022-23 school year. In reading, 18.3% 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	26.7%	23.2%
Carson High School	16.9%	16.7%
East Rowan High School	15.1%	10.5%
South Rowan High School	6.9%	8.9%
Salisbury High School	10.5%	7%
West Rowan High School	8.8%	6.9%
Henderson High School	<5%	<5%
North Rowan High School	7.8%	<5%
Rowan-Salisbury Schools	12.2%	10.1%