Parent Teacher Magazine | Page 7

CMS outperforms state averages for high-performing schools North Carolina issues first School Performance Grades CharlotteMecklenburg Schools had a larger percentage of schools earning a B or higher on the state’s new School Performance Grades system than the statewide average. The letter grades were included in the North Carolina School Report Cards for the 2013-2014 year, made public Feb. 5. Under the new system, schools are graded A-F. Grades are calculated almost entirely on each school’s proficiency scores (80 percent of the grade), with 20 percent of the grade based on academic growth at each school. All public schools, including charter schools, receive a grade. In Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools, 41.4 percent of the district’s schools were graded A or B, compared to 29.4 percent for the state overall. The district had 70.1 percent of its schools receiving a grade of C or higher, compared to 70.8 for the state. High schools are graded using additional indicators of college and career readiness; 24 of 25 CMS high schools earned a C or better for a total of 96 percent, compared to 88.8 percent statewide. Sixty-four percent of CMS high schools were graded A or B, compared to 47.7 percent for the state. “Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools is working to prepare every student for a successful future and the new letter grades do not change our commitment to that goal,” said CMS Superintendent Ann Clark. In CMS, 17 schools, or 10.8 percent, received an A grade. Forty-eight schools, or 30.6 percent, received a B; 45 schools, or 28.7 percent, received a C; 36 schools, or 22.9 percent, received a D, and 11 schools, or seven percent, received an F. Statewide, 5.4 percent of schools received an A, 24 percent received a B, 41.4 percent received a C, 23.1 percent received a D and 6 percent received an F. “Although we are pleased that mo ɔ