CMS sees growth in new NC test scores, but 9 more schools among state’s low performers

Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools student test scores showed improvement in the second post-pandemic year, but the list of low-performing schools grew.

The state’s Department of Public Instruction released state test score data and school performance grades Wednesday, which are calculated from various data including how much academic growth students made last school year. Last year, the state released the first scores and grades for all public schools in North Carolina since the pandemic. This year, state education officials released data for the 2022-2023 school year.

Slightly more than half of CMS students were proficient on state level exams for the 2022-23 academic year, according to the results presented to the state Board of Education. That’s 1.5% lower than the statewide rate, but the 52.1% CMS proficiency rate is better than the 2021-2022 school year. Students who are proficient demonstrate a sufficient understanding of grade-level content, according to the state.

The proficiency number has improved significantly from the first post-pandemic year — 2020-21. But it remains below the pre-pandemic number of 59.8%.

Some good news: more than one-third of the district’s schools exceeded growth. Multiple schools posted growth rates above 5%, including Allenbrook Elementary, Bain Elementary, Clear Creek Elementary, Collinswood Language Academy, Highland Creek Elementary and Hopewell High.

And at least three schools — West Charlotte High, Renaissance West STEAM Academy and Newell Elementary — came off the low-performing list from a year ago. All three schools earned a D letter grade, but exceeded their growth targets for 2022-23.

The four-year graduation rate for CMS high school students is 82.6%.

CMS school letter grades

The state also issues A-F letter grades to individual schools and reports whether they met academic growth targets. The school grades are based 80% on pass rates on exams and 20% on growth on tests.

In CMS, 142 schools, or 81%, met or exceeded their growth expectations. But 59 earned the state’s low-performing designation, which includes schools that scored D or F and did not exceed their growth targets. The district had 50 schools on that list last year.

CMS officials said Wednesday 16 schools were removed from the state low performing list, while 25 schools were added to the list.

About 31% of CMS schools received A and B grades, an improvement from 23% in 2021-22. The percentage of schools with D and F grades improved slightly to 41% from 42% the year prior.

Across the state, 72.5% of schools met or exceeded growth expectations on exams last school year. That compares to 70% from the 2021-22 school year and nearly 73% of schools meeting targets in 2018-19.

The new report lists 804 low performing schools, a decrease from last year’s 864 across the state.

CMS Black, Latino students still behind

Nearly two years ago, district leaders set aggressive goals to make improvements in test results among students who are Black or Latino. The school board approved a plan that set benchmarks by grade level to close achievement gaps.

Board members want the percentage of Black and Hispanic third grade students who are college and career ready in English Language Arts to be at 50% by October 2024, according to its goals.

Using the state data released Wednesday, a Charlotte Observer analysis found 39.2% of Black students in CMS are grade-level proficient across key subjects such as reading and math, and 22.6% are college and career ready — both increases from last year.

The percentage of Latino students who are grade-level proficient in key subjects also increased from last year. Now, 38.5% are proficient and 23.3% are college and career ready.

White students in CMS are 81.1% proficient across key subjects, according to the data, and 65.7% are college and career ready.

In third grade, 41.7% of Black students were proficient across key subjects and 39.2% of Latino students were proficient, compared to 80.8% of white students. In Grade 4, 39.6% of Black and Hispanic students were proficient, compared to 81% of white students. The scores show the gaps between Black and Hispanic students in Grade 4 are closing.