State test results indicate increase in student proficiency
Majority of Gaston schools met or exceeded academic growth – elementary schools
post gains
Gaston County Schools posted a slight increase in the percentage of students achieving overall proficiency
on end-of-grade and end-of-course state tests, according to information released by the North Carolina State
Board of Education. The school district also had 75 percent of its schools meet or exceed academic growth on
the READY state accountability program.
For the 2014-2015 year, GCS had 75 percent of schools (39 of 52) to meet or exceed academic growth.
Last year, the district also had 39 schools to meet or exceed academic growth. The elementary schools (grades
3-5) made the most significant progress on academic growth with 86.2 percent of schools meeting or exceeding
growth compared to 81.5 percent in 2013-2014.
Growth indicates whether students achieve a year’s worth of academic progress for a year’s worth of
instruction. Growth is reported in one of three ways: Exceeded Growth, Met Growth or Did Not Meet Growth.
Overall student proficiency increased slightly over last year. For the 2014-2015 school year, 50.4 percent of
students scored a Level III, IV or V (grade level proficiency) on the state tests. Last year, the district had 50.2
percent of students scoring a Level III, IV or V. The district had its most significant improvement in science
(grades 5 and 8). Overall grade level proficiency in science increased to 62.2 percent, which is up from 58.6
percent last year.
The READY state accountability and testing program provides data about academic growth and student
performance, which is reported in two ways: Grade Level Proficiency and Career and College Readiness.
Students who score a Level III, IV or V on state tests are performing at grade level while students who score a
Level IV or V are above grade level and “career and college ready.”
Additionally, the READY data is used to determine the School Performance Grades, which were assigned for
the first time last school year. A school’s performance letter grade is determined using a formula based only on
two factors – student achievement (80 percent) and student academic growth (20 percent).
Superintendent of Schools W. Jeffrey Booker stated, “The READY accountability program has established
high academic standards for public schools across the state. The standards are more challenging and require
students to achieve at a much higher level. While we are seeing some improvement in student achievement, we
want to see significant increases in all areas.”
Booker added, “We will analyze the test data to determine areas that need attention and develop strategies
to increase academic performance. As a school system, we expect our academic growth and proficiency rates to
be much higher, and we will spend time focusing on how to improve our scores.”
Facts and
Figures
Gaston County Schools
is fully accredited by
AdvancED and the Southern Association
of Colleges and Schools as a quality
school system. Each school is also fully
accredited.
n Ninth largest school district in
North Carolina with more than 32,000
students (pre-kindergarten through high
school)
n Provides a comprehensive
educational program with outstanding
opportunities for students in academics,
athletics, fine arts, career and technical
education, and extracurricular activities
n Second largest employer in Gaston
County with more than 3,700 full-time
and part-time employees, including
1,900 classroom teachers
Below are highlights from the 2014-2015 state test results:
n Under the READY state accountability program, students in grades 3-8 are tested in reading and math.
Students in grades 5 and 8 also are tested in science. High school students take state tests in three subject
areas: Biology, English II, and Math I (Algebra).
n Academic growth for Gaston County Schools remains steady. GCS has 39 schools that met or exceeded
growth for 2014-2015, which is the same number as the previous year.
n The elementary schools (grades 3-5) posted the most significant gains – 86.2 percent of elementary
schools met or exceeded academic growth this year compared to 81.5 percent of elementary schools in 20132014.
n Gaston County had 18 schools to exceed academic growth this year compared to 17 schools last year.
n Gaston County’s overall student proficiency score is 50.4 percent, which is slightly higher than last year’s
mark of 50.2. Proficiency is determined by ѡ