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Friday, March 29, 2024

UPDATED: Mostly passing marks on A-F school grades

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Much-anticipated letter grades for public schools statewide were released today, and while two-thirds of schools received a C or better, the grades reflect a strong correlation between school poverty and school performance.

Using a 15-point scale, each public school in the state was assigned an A-F grade based on school achievement, mostly derived from student performance on state tests with some consideration of where students started the year and how much they learned by the end, during the 2013-14 school year. The new school grading system, mandated in a 2013 state law, is supposed to offer parents a snapshot of each school’s success and boost accountability.

The grades offer a limited picture of what happens in schools, noted New Hanover County Schools Superintendent Dr. Tim Markley, but he said New Hanover County schools stacked up favorably against other school districts in the southeastern region and compared to other urban districts, with half of schools earning an A or B and 80 percent earning a C or higher.

Wrightsville Beach School was awarded an A with a score of 86. Wrightsville Beach was one of six county schools and 5.4 percent of schools statewide designated an A grade, along with Isaac Bear Early College High, Eaton Elementary, Ogden Elementary, Codington Elementary and Parsley Elementary.

Parsley Principal Dr. Robin Hamilton, also New Hanover County Schools Principal of the Year, agreed the grades capture only one perspective on a school’s success, listing the relationships formed between teachers and their students and families as an example.

“So when we look at a letter grade in a school, regardless of what our letter grade is, we know that our school encompasses so much more than just one letter grade,” Hamilton said. “In fact, so many great things go on in our schools, and so many relationships are built, and so many children’s lives are transformed … that there’s probably not a measurement tool to accurately measure all the fabulous things that are going on in our school system.”

Dr. Jerry Oates, principal of Williston Middle School, one the county’s six schools given a D or F, echoed Hamilton’s statements. Teachers and staff at Williston and other schools across the district with high levels of poverty among students face unique challenges, like student homelessness and students whose first language is not English. Yet they focus on boosting each student’s growth year by year, bringing them closer to the state proficiency standards and preparing them for life as adults, he said.

“Even though the snapshots that come out for the schools today, they give you one image — quantitative data — the qualitative data, the story behind the numbers, is really what we are focused on,” Oates said.

Schools statewide with high student poverty rates earned fewer A’s and B’s and more C’s, D’s, or F’s for the 2013-14 school year’s grades. In New Hanover County, Markley said the A schools have the fewest students qualifying for free or reduced lunches, while the D and F schools have the highest numbers of free and reduced lunches.

Image courtesy of the N.C. Department of Public Instruction.
Image courtesy of the N.C. Department of Public Instruction.

 

“I think that stands for itself,” he said. The obstacles to success for students from economically disadvantaged homes range from uneducated parents, who he said serve as a child’s first teacher, to higher transiency rates. As much as 25 or 30 percent of students that start the school year at some of the county’s high-poverty schools will not finish there, which Markley said prevents the school system from bringing students closer to state proficiency standards.

“We find if we can keep a child with us for three years, we can do a great job of getting that child caught back up,” Markley said.

Because the schools already knew the test scores used to calculate the grades, Markley said the school system has already implemented changes accordingly, tweaking staffing and instructional practices used in the classrooms during the 2014-15 school year.

Grades for the 2014-15 school year, expected sometime this fall, will use a 10-point scale.

Markley said he hopes the school grades serve as a conversation starter. He encouraged parents to approach the grades as one measure of a school’s success. School report cards sent home to parents from all county schools, whether they received an A or F, will explain the grade and how it was calculated, plus additional information about school efforts to help students learn and grow. If parents still have questions or concerns, Markley encouraged them to talk with principals or teachers at their child’s school.

Lakeside School, Mosley Performance Learning Center and Mary C. Williams Elementary School did not receive scores. About 140 small schools, alternative schools, and schools with transient populations statewide were not given grades.

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