Wake Students Continue High Level of Performance on 2005 Tests

July 7, 2005 - For the third year in a row, more than 90 percent of Wake County elementary and middle school students scored at Levels III or IV on state End-of-Grade tests and 83 percent of high school students scored at Levels III or IV on state End-of-Course tests.

Five years ago, 84.9 percent of elementary and middle school students scored at Levels III or IV on the EOG and 75.2 percent of Wake County high school students scored at Levels III or IV on the EOC.

"Our teachers continue to make extraordinary efforts in the classroom as demonstrated by our students' success on these tests," said Superintendent Bill McNeal. "In two years, we've added nearly 10,000 students. You know the challenges we have faced in providing space for these students. It has been just as demanding for our teachers to ready these students for these tests. We've enjoyed great success, but Goal 2008 demands more and we'll continue to work to meet its challenge."

The percent of Wake County student scores at Levels III or IV on state End-of-Grade tests was slightly down, End-of-Course tests held steady and VoCATS tests continued to climb.


Superintendent Bill McNeal congratulates students and teachers for continued success on state testing.

School-By-School Results

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Elementary Schools (84 KB)

Middle Schools (68 KB)

High Schools (264 KB)


Carroll Middle principal Mary Rich backed by her staff and teachers explains the school's EOG success.

End-of-Grade testing
The percent of Wake County students who scored at Levels III or IV on the End-of-Grade tests was 90.84, down slightly from last year and near the 2003 record high of 91.3 percent.

In reading, the percentage of students who scored Levels III or IV was 90.3, slightly higher than last year's 89.9 percent. In math the percentage of students who scored Levels III or IV dropped to 91.4 percent this year from last year's 91.9 percent.

Carroll Middle is one of several schools where students made tremendous strides. Carroll had 89.4 percent of students score at Levels III or IV on the EOG, compared with last year's 82.4 percent. Eighth graders accounted for the school's largest percentage increases. On the reading test, 94.3 percent of Carroll's eighth graders scored at Levels III or IV compared with 83.2 last year. On the math test, 89.1 percent scored at Levels III or IV compared with 79.9 percent last year. Principal Mary Rich credited her teachers with hard work. Rich said they used Project Achieve lessons and built into the daily schedule time for teacher planning to strengthen student academics.

Ten elementary schools had more than 95 percent of their students at all grade levels score Levels III or IV on reading and math tests. The schools include Brassfield, Davis Drive, Green Hope, Highcroft Drive, Morrisville, Oak Grove, Olive Chapel, Pleasant Union, Turner Creek and Washington. Nine additional schools had more than 90 percent of students at all grade levels score Levels III or IV on reading and math tests. The schools include Adams, Baucom, Cary, Combs, Farmington Woods, Hillburn Drive, Leesville Road, Penny Road and Wakefield.

One middle school - Salem - had more than 95 percent of their students at all grade levels score Levels III or IV on reading and math tests. Eight additional schools had more than 90 percent of students at all grade levels score Levels III or IV on reading and math tests. The schools include Apex, Davis Drive, Heritage, Leesville Road, Ligon, Wakefield, West Cary and West Lake.

End-of-Course testing
Overall, students passed 83.2 percent of their End-of-Course tests, the same as last year. WCPSS students were most successful on the Physics test where 92 percent of students passed. In Algebra I, 89 percent passed; in English I, 87.4 percent; and in Chemistry, 87.4 percent.

The percent of students scoring Levels III or IV on the EOC increased in physical science and biology. In physical science, 67.3 percent of students scored at Levels III or IV this year compared with 66 percent last year. In biology, 74.2 percent scored at Levels III or IV this year compared with 74.1 percent last year.

Eleven of the 17 WCPSS high schools had more than 90 percent of students score at Level III or IV on the Physics test. More than 98 percent of the students at Athens Drive and Green Hope high schools scored at Levels III or IV on Physics.

Nine of the 17 WCPSS high schools had more than 90 percent of students score at Levels III or IV on the Algebra II test. More than 98 percent of the students at Knightdale High scored at Levels III or IV on Algebra II.

North Carolina schools began administering the EOC tests in 1988, and in 1995-96 the tests became part of state ABC's of Public Education.

VOCATS testing
Wake students posted a 5.2 percentage point gain this year on VOCATS testing with 69.4 percent of Career Technical Education students scoring at Levels III or IV on the tests. Fifteen high schools demonstrated improvement by at least two percentage points this year.

Both Green Hope and Leesville Road high schools had more than 80 percent of students scoring at Level III or IV on the VOCATS test. At Green Hope, 87 percent of CTE students scored at Level III or IV. At Leesville Road, 84.4 percent.

Athens Drive High had the largest increase in the percent of CTE students scoring at Level III or IV with 72.5 percent compared with 60.3 percent last year.

VoCATS is an acronym for Vocational Competency Achievement Tracking System, a competency-based, computer-supported system encompassing course planning, lesson planning, test/assessment items, and reporting of data.

Testing levels defined
The state's EOG tests are designed to measure student achievement of the knowledge and skills identified in the N.C. Standard Course of Study. The multiple-choice tests are required in reading and math in grades 3 and 8.

The following are the EOC and EOG achievement levels and what they mean:

· Level I - the student does not have sufficient mastery of knowledge and skills to be successful at the next grade or course level;
· Level II - the student demonstrates inconsistent mastery of knowledge and skills in this subject area and is minimally prepared to be successful at the next grade or course level;
· Level III - the student consistently demonstrates mastery of grade level subject matter and skills and is well prepared for the grade or course level;
· Level IV - the student consistently performs in a superior manner clearly beyond that required to be proficient at the next level.

The EOG and EOC tests are a key component in calculating each local school's overall performance in the ABCs of Public Education. State ABC results will be released later. EOG and EOC results are also the measure tied to the Wake County Board of Education's goal of raising student achievement to 95 percent at grade level or above by 2008.

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