For immediate release
Sept. 7, 2017
School Grades Improve, Graduation
Rate at Record High,
but Challenges Remain as State Releases Accountability
Data
In the fourth year of
the state’s A-F grading system, the percentage of A or B schools (35.8 percent)
continued to climb and the percentage of D and F schools (22.6 percent) fell
compared to the 2015-16 school year, according to school accountability data
released today to the State Board of Education. In addition, the state’s
four-year high school cohort graduation rate continued its upward trend, moving
to 86.5 percent from the 85.9 percent figure from the 2015-16 school year.
North Carolina’s public schools have set a record graduation rate for a 12th
consecutive year.
School Performance
Grades are based 80 percent on the school’s achievement score and 20 percent on
students’ academic growth. The only exception to this is if a school meets
expected growth but inclusion of the school’s growth reduces the school’s
performance score and grade.
A majority (56.5
percent) of the state’s high schools earned a grade of B or better. On the
growth metric, elementary schools were more likely to meet growth than middle
or high schools; 80.3 percent of elementary schools met or exceeded growth.
Elementary and middle schools’ performance grades are based on test scores
alone, while high school grades are based on test results, graduation rates,
and indicators of students’ readiness for college or a career.
Growth data for the
2,531 schools rated showed little change from the previous year, with the
percentage of schools meeting or exceeding growth targets changing from 73.6
percent in 2015-16 to 73.7 percent in 2016-17. The proportion of schools not
meeting growth dropped slightly as well. Growth is measured by a statistical
model that compares each student’s predicted test score, based on past
performance, against his or her actual result.
“It’s
great news that the top-line trends are in the right direction. We can all be
proud, for instance, that most schools meet or exceed growth,” said Mark
Johnson, state superintendent of public schools. “But deeper into the data, the
results show stubborn concerns that call out for innovative approaches. It is
with innovation and personalized learning that we can transform incremental
progress into generalized success.”
School grades continue
to correlate strongly with the poverty levels of schools. Among all schools in
2016-17 that received a D or F, 92.9 percent had enrollments with at least 50
percent of students from low-income families. Conversely, among schools that
received at least a B, 72.5 percent had enrollments with less than 50 percent
of students from low-income families.
“The graduation rate
is at an all-time high, and the school letter grades continue to give parents
an easy-to-understand way to chart progress and compare schools,” said Bill
Cobey, chairman of the State Board of Education. “Parents should use the
results we released today to learn more about how their children’s schools are
doing and to become more involved in helping schools and students succeed.”
Low-performing schools
are identified annually as those that receive a School Performance Grade of D
or F and do not exceed growth. Low-performing districts are districts where the
majority of schools received a School Performance Grade and have been
identified as low performing. For 2016-17, 505 schools were identified as low
performing and 11 districts were low performing, both up from 489 schools and
10 districts in 2015-16. The number of recurring low-performing schools
increased from 415 in 2015-16 to 468 in 2016-17.
NCDPI will continue to
serve and support low-performing districts and schools through the creation of
a new division combining the Educator Effectiveness and the District and School
Transformation divisions.
In 2016, the North Carolina General Assembly designed and launched a new
strategy focused on improving student outcomes in low-performing schools. The
effort, called the Innovative School District (ISD), provides that the State
Board of Education will select schools this fall, based on the recommendation
of the ISD Superintendent, to be transferred into this statewide school
district, which will partner with local schools, districts and communities to
engage innovative strategies to drive student achievement.
Once selected, schools in the ISD will be operated by
qualified charter or education management organizations for at least five
years, with the first schools joining the new district for the 2018-19 school
year. To be considered for the ISD, a low-performing school must have a school
performance score in the lowest 5 percent of all schools in the state. The list
of schools the State Board of Education can consider for the ISD is posted online.
For more information, please contact NCDPI Communications at
919.807.3450.
2016-17 State,
District and School Level Data Results.
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