CMS sees mixed bag of results in state performance results

Jonathan Lowe
·3 min read
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Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools is seeing a lot of positive signs, including growth in reading and math scores.

However, state test score data shows there’s still a large gap between white, and Asian and minority students.

Channel 9 Education Reporter Jonathan Lowe spent the day digging through the numbers and learned what the district plans to do to improve them.

West Charlotte’s Renaissance West STEM Academy is a success story in the district. After years of low performance, the school is now ranked 29th in North Carolina and among schools seeing the highest student growth.

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Jasmine Harris told Lowe her son Kendrick has had a noticeable progression while at the school.

“I love how they interact with him,” Harris said. “When he needs one on one time they’ll take the time to pull him aside and work with him while the teacher assistant works with the other students.”

Renaissance West was the backdrop for CMS to go over student performance data released by the state.

“All of our reading and math composite scores increased in Charlotte-Mecklenburg schools,” CMS Chief Strategy & Innovation Officer Beth Thompson said.

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CMS says 172 out of 184 schools meet or exceeded growth last school year. A little more than 52% were at least proficient or had sufficient understanding on state level exams. That number was just under 60% before the pandemic.

“This is not good enough, which is what I’ve said before,” Superintendent Crystal Hill said.

CMS also stated that 58% of their schools earned an A, B, or C performance grade. While 16 schools were removed from the state’s “low-performing” list, 25 were added, totaling 59 schools. That’s nine more than last year.

District officials said they are zeroing in on four focus areas to accelerate growth for all 184 schools in the district: Academics, behavior, social and emotional learning.

“A lot of those schools will receive an experienced principal coach that will support them,” Melissa Balknight of CMS said about the low-performing schools.

The fourth focus area is attendance. Chronic absenteeism among students is still a big issue.

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CMS says that state data shows the district saw the largest increase in English learner progress – at 21.4%.

Below are the 16 schools that were removed from the low-performing list:

  • Cotswold Elementary

  • Military and Global Leadership

  • Joseph W Grier Academy

  • Rocky River High School

  • Montclaire Elementary

  • Newell Elementary

  • Performance Learning Center*

  • Pineville Elementary

  • Piney Grove Elementary

  • Sedgefield Middle

  • Starmount Academy of Excellence

  • Steele Creek Elementary

  • Sterling Elementary

  • West Charlotte High School

  • Winding Springs Elementary

  • Winget Park Elementary

The schools below have been added to the low-performing list.

  • Albemarle Road Elementary

  • Alexander Graham Middle

  • Berewick Elementary

  • Berryhill School

  • Bruns Avenue Elementary

  • Croft Community School

  • Devonshire Elementary

  • Eastway Middle

  • Elizabeth Traditional Elem

  • Gov’s Village STEM (Lower)

  • Gov’s Village STEM (Upper)

  • Greenway Park Elementary

  • J. H. Gunn Elementary

  • Lawrence Orr Elementary

  • Mint Hill Elementary School

  • Northridge Middle

  • South Pine Academy

  • Stoney Creek Elementary

  • Thomasboro Academy

  • Tuckaseegee Elementary

  • University Meadows Elementary

  • Villa Heights Elementary

  • Walter G. Byers School

  • Whitewater Middle

  • Wilson STEM Academy

The full set of data released by CMS can be seen by clicking here. The state’s performance data can be seen here.

(WATCH BELOW: Hundreds of teaching positions open at CMS)