Preliminary ABCs: More Schools Achieve High Growth
August 7, 2008 – The Wake County Public School System is seeing big gains in the number of schools meeting state high growth standards. That’s according to preliminary results of the ABCs of Public Education released today by the NC Department of Public Instruction.
Available data indicate 127 of 151 Wake County Public School System schools met the state ABCs expected growth standard. Wake County schools continue to out pace the state average with 84.1 percent of school meeting expected growth standards, compared to 82 percent statewide.
In addition, 83 of the 127 WCPSS schools met the state’s high growth standards. Under the state ABCs growth formula, students are expected to make one year’s academic growth during a school year. State formulas calculate the growth standard schools are to meet based on the results of their End-of-Grade and End-of-Course testing. High growth means students made more than one year’s academic growth during a school year.
While the number of WCPSS schools meeting state expected growth standards has remained steady, the number of schools classified as high growth in 2007-08 nearly doubled from 47 to 83.
Of the 127 schools that met 2007-08 expected growth standards, 90 were elementary schools, 27 were middle schools and nine were high schools. Of the 83 schools that met high growth, 62 were elementary schools, 19 were middle schools and two were high schools. Mt. Vernon Alternative School also met expected growth standards. For a complete listing of schools, please visit www.wcpss.net.
Today’ results are partial because the state implemented new End-of-Grade Reading tests in 2007-08 in Grades 3 through 8 and the results of those tests won’t be available until later this fall. The state will report additional information later this year reflecting the schools that earn various ABCs designations such as Schools of Excellence and Schools of Distinction, composite scores for schools, results for the new reading tests, and final Adequate Yearly Progress results for elementary and middle schools as required by the No Child Left Behind Act.
North Garner Middle School Principal John Wall says his staff makes a major effort to ensure each child gets a quality education and any extra help they may need. “Our teachers emphasized NC Standard Course of Study in both Language Arts and math, worked closely in their learning teams to review periodic assessment data and provided real-time remediation and enrichment for students throughout the year,” said Wall. “I am very proud of our students and staff.”
The ABCs of Public Education is the state accountability program begun in 1996-97 and designed to improve student achievement, reward excellence, and provide assistance to schools that need extra help.