Pinehurst Today

At Moore County Schools, 221 out of 936 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 dropped to 23.6% compared to the previous school year, when 26% of students were considered ready for post-secondary education.

Pinecrest High School students stood out from schools in Moore County Schools in math, with almost 28.3% of the 11th-graders hitting the ACT benchmark in the 2022-23 school year (136). Meanwhile, students from North Moore High School struggled the most on the math portion, and only 6.9% 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, 45.1% of Moore County Schools 11th-graders met English college readiness benchmarks in the 2022-23 school year. In reading, 36.6% of students were ready for college, and science scores revealed 27.6% of juniors also met the standard. Overall, Moore County Schools had an average college readiness of 15.3% 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)
Pinecrest High School	31%	28.3%
Union Pines High School	25.8%	25.2%
Connect Academy	0%	9.1%
North Moore High School	10.9%	6.9%
The Community Learning Center @ Pinckney	<5%	<5%
Moore County Schools	26%	23.6%