school performance grades
Eight new school quality indicators could be added to state’s A-F grading system
A five-year graduation rate, school climate, and post-secondary outcomes are among the eight indicators North Carolina could soon use to determine school quality, state education leaders said Tuesday. The indicators would likely serve as additions to the A-F school performance model that is based mostly on students’ standardized test scores. Eighty percent of a school’s […]
More than half of survey respondents believe growth, proficiency should carry equal weight on A-F school grading system
Fifty-five percent of the more than 26,000 survey participants responding to questions about North Carolina’s controversial A-F school performance grading system believe a student’s academic growth and performance on standardized tests should carry equal weight when assigning school grades. Currently, academic growth from one year to the next accounts for 20% of a school’s grade. […]
Monday numbers: A closer look at the academic performance of North Carolina’s charter schools
Last month, school accountability data from 2020-21 showed lower graduation rates, lower rates of proficiency on state tests and more schools designated as low-performing under North Carolina’s A-F school grade performance model. While traditional public schools get lots of attention when annual testing data is released, it’s also worth noting the performance of the state’s […]
New Justice Center report details North Carolina’s discriminatory school accountability system
Since the 2013-14 school year, North Carolina has assigned each of its schools an A-F school performance grade. As folks have pointed out, these grades, based almost entirely on standardized test results, overwhelmingly label as “failing” schools that enroll large shares of students from families with low incomes. A new Justice Center report expands analysis […]
Bill to give academic growth, achievement equal weight marches forward
A bill to give academic growth and achievement equal weight when determining school performance grades continues to wind its way through the House. HB 354 received a favorable report Monday in the House Rules Committee. It could make its way to the House floor by Wednesday. Educators have long argued that growth should weigh heavily […]
House bill filed to give more weight to student growth now has a Senate companion
There’s good news for those who think school performance grades should be weighted more heavily in favor of student growth. A group of Senators has filed a bill that would require growth and student achievement to each account for 50 percent of a school’s performance grade. Senate Bill 319 is similar to House Bill 354, […]
Op-Ed: New North Carolina grading system to hit home for some schools
A new Op-Ed in The Charlotte Observer takes on North Carolina’s reformed school performance grading system, a much-lambasted system of assessing schools that’s frequently a topic of concern for state lawmakers. Chiefly, the opinion column from a former public school administrator warns parents that some schools may now find themselves graded an “F” school, and […]
Advocates warn budget’s K-12 grading reforms could harm schools, communities
Republican-authored state budget reforms to North Carolina’s school performance grading system have the potential to harm local schools and their communities, public education advocates are warning this week. As Policy Watch reported on Tuesday, a controversial budget provision tucked into the state legislature’s now approved spending deal (page 68 of the bill) will, beginning in […]
N.C.’s compromise budget: Teacher pay raises, voucher boom, DPI cuts, school grading and more
North Carolina state lawmakers unveiled a compromise budget package Monday that bundles a new round of teacher pay raises amid steep cuts for the state’s top K-12 agency and support for school choice favorites like vouchers and education savings accounts. The $23 billion spending plan is expected to move swiftly through the legislature. State senators […]
State budget compromise offers teacher raises but expands controversial private school voucher program
A $22.34 billion budget compromise by GOP leaders in the N.C. General Assembly includes a nearly 5 percent raise for teachers, but also bundles in a laundry list of conservative wishlist items sure to rankle Democrats and public school advocates. The plan, announced by state Senate and House lawmakers late Monday, includes an average 4.7 percent raise […]
Proposed House education budget cuts $27 million for reducing first-grade class sizes, reallocates most to literacy coaches
N.C. House leaders in a key budget committee gave their approval Thursday to a report on the chamber’s draft of the state education budget, a document that, overall, allocates an additional $12.9 million in K-12 spending, but, notably, also axes about $27 million intended to reduce first-grade class sizes by adding additional teachers. The report presented Thursday […]