More Than Half Of North Carolina’s Students Rated Proficient On State Exams

More Than Half of North Carolina’s Students Rated Proficient on State Exams

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According to data from the NC Department of Public Instruction, slightly more than half of North Carolina’s K-12 students who took the state exams demonstrated proficiency. For the 2021-22 school year, the proficiency rate stood at 53.6%, a slight improvement from the previous year’s 51.2%.

However, the data from the exams also revealed an ongoing achievement gap in the state. White students continue to outperform students of color and economically disadvantaged students by a significant margin.

Approximately 67% of white students achieved passing scores, demonstrating proficiency at level three or higher. In contrast, only 36.1% of Black students and 42.3% of Latinx students exhibited proficiency on the state exams. It is worth noting that Black and Latinx students make up over 50% of North Carolina’s K-12 student population.

Although there was an overall improvement in students’ performance compared to the decline caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, they did not surpass the pre-pandemic scores, as stated by NCDPI officials.

Tammy Howard, the senior director of NCDPI’s Office of Accountability and Testing, emphasized that the impacts of the pandemic on students, teachers, schools, and communities in general must be taken into account when interpreting the results.

State Superintendent Catherine Truitt acknowledged the profound impact the pandemic has had on student achievement. She stated that there have been two consecutive years of gains that surpassed any of the preceding years’ achievements before the pandemic losses. Truitt expressed optimism that progress will continue as more early-grade teachers adopt literacy instruction based on evidence-based reading practices, leading to stronger readers among students.

Truitt further mentioned that overall test scores and other metrics are expected to experience continued improvement in the future.

North Carolina’s four-year cohort graduation rate remained steady at 86.4%, unchanged from the previous year and the 2018-19 school year.

Howard highlighted the following significant findings from the accountability data:

– More than 95% of students participated in the state exams at the state level.

– Scores on most end-of-grade tests and end-of-course exams increased, with a few exceptions such as Grade 8 Science and English II. Math scores exhibited larger increases compared to reading scores.

– Schools consistently met or exceeded expected growth.

– Compared to the previous year, there was an increase in the number of schools rated A, B, and C, and a decrease in the number of schools rated D and F.

– The data showed that 35.4% of schools received letter grades of D or F, a decrease from the previous year’s 42.3%.

The letter grades received significant scrutiny since a substantial portion of the grade is determined by student performance on state exams, accounting for 80% of the rating. The remaining 20% is based on growth.

Truitt has been leading efforts to revise the grading system to reduce the weight placed on state exams. She highlighted that the variation in models used by other states results in many states having fewer "failing" schools compared to North Carolina. Truitt encouraged considering proficiency rates as part of the school accountability model’s revision to better reflect the effort put into educating students.

Howard noted that North Carolina’s testing results align with those of other states that are making progress towards pre-COVID levels, although full recovery may not have been achieved.

Eric Davis, chairman of the State Board of Education, applauded the efforts of educators and students to address the persistent effects of the pandemic on student learning reflected in the 2022-23 accountability results. Davis emphasized the importance of recognizing these efforts and providing the necessary resources for student success.

Earlier, Davis expressed gratitude towards district and school leaders who, despite the absence of a state budget and additional last-minute administrative responsibilities, rose to the occasion and fostered a climate of respect and trust in nearly every school as they prepared for the new school year.

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