Growth Rates and School Performance Grades Improve

State Releases 2016-17 Accountability Data

School accountability data was released earlier today to the State Board of Education. Student achievement results in Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools remain among the highest in the state in all major categories.

“I am delighted to receive confirmation that the hard work of our students and staff is producing a quality return. It also speaks to the amazing support of our parents and community,” said Superintendent Dr. Pam Baldwin. “While it is nice to see comparably high scores, we still have individual students who are not succeeding and, therefore, our work is not even close to being finished.”

In 2016-17, 94 percent of schools in the district met or exceeded expected growth in 2016-17. This number is up from 83 percent the previous year. Statewide, 74 percent met or exceeded expected growth last year.

School performance grades, required by state law, are based primarily on overall proficiency rates on the state’s standardized end-of-grade tests, and to a lesser extent, the growth students make during the year, irrespective of performance level. Eighty percent of the grade is based upon the percentage of tests earning a score considered grade-level proficient. Twenty percent is based upon growth, measured by a statistical model that compares each student’s predicted test score, based on past performance, against his/her actual result.

In Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools, 94 percent (17 out of 18) of our graded schools scored an A or B last year, compared to 35.8 percent of traditional public schools statewide. Additionally, two of our schools moved up one letter grade with Frank Porter Graham Elementary moving from a C to a B, and Carrboro High moving from a B to an A.

Two schools, Glenwood Elementary and East Chapel Hill High, earned an A+. The “+” is added when the school’s achievement gap is less (better) than the state average.

Graduation rates remained mostly level. The four-year cohort graduation rate for Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools dropped slightly from 90.2 to 89.6 percent. The state rate reached a new high at 86.5 percent. The five-year cohort graduation rate for the school district was 91.9 percent, a drop from the previous year’s 92.2 percent. The five-year cohort rate for the state is 87.5 percent.

The North Carolina Department of Public Instruction has posted a variety of data reports on its website. The Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools Board of Education will receive a full report at its October 19 meeting.