There has been a noticeable rise in the Carteret County graduation rates which has brought the teachers and students felicitations. The good news is not only restricted to that, according to recent stats, but the county’s schools have also witnessed the students taking the SAT exam score greater than the national and state averages. But this upward rise of the SAT scores doesn’t result in productivity as when compared with the previous years, that is actually going downwards.

Though as per data, the SAT scores of the county are rising when compared to the scores of the 2018 - 19 data school year, they were even below that. This is a consequence of this major outbreak taking place which has resulted in a disrupted spring semester, where students and teachers were both incapable of working peacefully. Even the AP and SAT exams were disarrayed.

N.C. Department of Public Instruction State Superintendent Mark Johnson has congratulated the students for a high score during the 2019 - 20 spring semester despite the pandemic and the anxiety caused by it. Similarly, the 2018 - 19 fall semester also saw an increase in the scores and the disruption witnessed was Hurricane Florence which completely demolished not only Carteret but also the surrounding places.

With regard to the hurricane, it should be stated that it was even more disastrous than the Coronavirus pandemic. It caused the devastation of the homes of certain students and teachers which kept them anxious about prolonged relocation. Teachers and students were stressed about the circumstances which kept them back at home, the post-hurricane trauma kept them suffering for a long time.

Matt Bottoms’ former Carteret County Schools Superintendent has played a huge role in revamping the whole post-hurricane situation which enabled the teachers and students to come back to their classrooms within 4 weeks of the incident. This wasn’t the case with the remaining schools which were also victims of the hurricane but even after the hurricane evaded, the tremors were felt throughout the school.

According to research conducted by public schools about coronavirus, it can be seen that students are facing severe difficulties in attending classes. They are either attending online classes or pursuing a hybrid schedule of two days in the classroom and the remaining days in a remote manner. This has emerged unrest between both the students and teachers as the latter is unable to provide a smooth teaching experience to the former.

Nevertheless, the problem remains unresolved and there has emerged a new educational system. It is because of this dysfunctional system that the grades of the SAT scores are seeing a downward trend as there has been a lack in the education provided.

The skeptical people will urge the College Board which is the conducting body of both SAT and AP to accommodate the exams according to the urgency caused by the COVID-19 situation as has also happened in the past. The pandemic has impacted the whole educational system to a great extent, and this will also affect the grade and test mechanism again. But the disturbing factor is the scores when compared to that of previous years have shown a decreasing trend.

Parents, in this pandemic, are quite anxious noticing their children going through a hard time adjusting to keeping their scores high despite a downfall in the education system. This is giving rise to another question as to why they are supporting a system that is not answering to a new criterion.

The fact remains strong that the county students are facing the loss of their SAT scores due to the setback caused in the education system caused by the pandemic.