New results are out for the final state exams North Carolina students took at the end of last school year. There was a lot of promising news in statewide data released this week that the state uses to measure the success of public schools.
Last spring, the high school graduation rate hit an all-time high, and student test scores reached a three-year high in most subjects.
"These results from the 24-25 school year certainly demonstrate resilience, dedication and progress for our students and educators across the state," State Superintendent Maurice "Mo" Green said. "These results, I believe, represent more than just mere numbers; they represent thousands of students who are better prepared for their next phase in life."
Green said he was pleased to present the statewide results, while adding that there is room for improvement and said "our goal is not to be where we are today."
End-of-grade and End-of-course exam data
The overall measure of students being on-grade-level, or "proficient" has inched up over the last three years, as students recover from the effects of the pandemic. Last school year, about 55% of students met grade-level proficiency on a composite score representing all exams.
Students did better last spring than in either of the previous two years on 12 of 15 exams. The only subjects that did not hit a three-year high were third grade reading, and the high school subjects English II and Math I.
State education officials told the State Board of Education that they want to focus on these subject areas for targeted support.
"We must increase the percentage of students reading on grade level, because this is a milestone that sets the foundation for future learning," said Chief Academic Officer Stacey Wilson-Norman. "Math I is a gateway to advance coursework and STEM opportunities, and English II ensures students are prepared for college and career level reading."
Chief Accountability Officer Tammy Howard said she's looking forward to next year's third grade reading scores for students who received the full benefit from the state's overhaul of teacher training in literacy and the "science of reading" for elementary teachers.
"There's been much effort in recent years around the science of reading, and we're all very anxious to see the outcome from that work," Howard said. "We're anticipating next year, this time, to have results related to that work and that effort."
High school graduation rate hits record high
Green announced Wednesday that nearly 88% of the state's high school students graduated within four years.
"This is the highest four-year cohort graduation rate in the history of North Carolina, the highest," Green emphasized. "I think it's also important to put it in further context by thinking about not only (the) graduation rate, but then what are our students doing as they graduate?"
He highlighted that it was also a record-breaking year for high school students completing and passing college-level Advanced Placement course exams and earning industry-recognized credentials in career and technical education.
Green has set a goal of raising the graduation rate by one percentage point each of the next five school years, to reach the highest graduation rate in the nation by 2030.
School performance grades
Schools across the state also received their individual performance data over the summer for exams students completed last spring. Look up your school's latest testing data here.
School letter grades and other metrics are being publicly released by districts now and full reports will be available on the NC School Report Card interactive website later this fall.
"We're continuing to see an increase again this year in the number of Bs and Cs, and a decrease in the Ds and Fs," Howard said.
The school letter grades are based on a composite score of students who are proficient on state exams in math, reading, and science exams and of English language learners who are meeting targets for improvement.
In high school, the school letter grade also takes into account the school's graduation rate, share of students completing high level math courses, and student scores on the ACT college entrance exam as well as the ACT's career related WorkKeys assessment.
Howard noted that high schools tend to achieve higher school letter grades.
"We always just like to make a comment that that is, in our opinion, related to the (additional) indicators that are available to high schools," Howard said.
State board members Jill Camnitz and Catty Moore commented that these scores represent a school in a single snapshot of time, and Moore advocated for revisions to the school letter grades.
"There's far more data that schools use that is more diagnostic and ongoing to understand how students are progressing," Moore said. "The last thing I'll say is we need to continue to do our work around a reformed, revised, different accountability model."
