While most schools score high, three local campuses drop into Title I status
Test scores in south Charlotte schools topped district and state averages for the 2010-11 school year, with more than 95.2 percent of schools making high or expected academic growth.
Calculating academic growth involves measuring the rate at which students learned over the past school year, with the standard for expected growth being equal to a year’s worth of growth for a year of instruction. At high growth schools, students grow more than one year academically during a year of instruction.
All of south Charlotte’s high schools made either high or expected growth and were named Honor Schools of Excellence or Schools of Distinction.
Ardrey Kell and Providence high schools posted the highest scores among all district high schools, with more than 95 percent of students at each school scoring at or above grade level. East Mecklenburg saw a drop from 82.8 percent in 2009-10 to 81.9 percent in 2010-11, while scores at Myers Park fell from 87.3 percent to 83.6 percent. South Mecklenburg saw a rise in scores, from 87.3 percent to 88.1 percent.
The average score for south Charlotte’s five high schools was 90 percent, up from 89.1 percent in 2009-10.
South Charlotte’s middle schools performed well on the tests, with six of nine schools seeing rises in scores. Community House, Jay M. Robinson, Randolph and South Charlotte middle schools all posted pass rates higher than 90 percent.
Scores dipped slightly at Carmel, from 83.2 percent to 81.1 percent; and McClintock, from 66.5 percent to 64.7 percent; and rose slightly at Alexander Graham, from 83.9 percent to 84.9 percent; Crestdale, from 89.2 percent to 89.7 percent; and Quail Hollow, from 68.4 percent to 69.3 percent.
McClintock Middle will be entering the school’s first year of Title I status in 2011-12. The school was placed on the watchlist for 2010-11, but did not make Adequate Yearly Progress in reading or math. The first year of Title I includes supplemental educational services such as funding for tutors provided by the federal program.
Overall, the average score for local middle schools remained the same as last year’s at 85.2 percent.
Scores also rose overall in south Charlotte’s elementary schools. In 19 of the 28 schools, scores either rose or changed by less than one percentage point.
Twelve schools posted proficiency rates of at least 90 percent, including scores at Elon Park, Polo Ridge and Providence Spring, which topped 95 percent.
Greenway Park Elementary saw scores jump from 72.5 percent to 83.6 percent, making the school eligible to leave Title I status. After a year on the watchlist and failing to make Adequate Yearly Progress, Huntingtowne Farms and Rama Road elementary schools will be entering the first year of Title I in 2011-12.
Oakhurst and Winterfield elementary schools were named priority schools. Oakhurst, which was among the schools the Board of Education voted to close in November, made expected growth but saw scores fall from 62.1 percent to 60 percent and did not make Adequate Yearly Progress. Winterfield posted a decrease from 63.9 percent to 57.3 percent.
Smithfield and Huntingtowne Farms elementary schools were the only local schools that did not make expected growth for the 2010-11 school year.
Area elementary schools posted an increase in their overall average score, rising from 83.7 percent in 2009-10 to 84.3 percent in 2010-11.
The calculations for growth include the results of end-of-grade tests in reading and math for fourth- through eighth-graders and results of end-of-course tests in English I, Algebra I, Biology, U.S. History, Civics and Economics and Physical Science for high school students. For high schools, the dropout rate also is a factor in the calculations.
Across the district, 85.4 percent of schools met or exceeded their goals for academic growth, down from 94.1 percent in 2009-10. The district outperformed the state average, which showed 81.4 percent of schools achieving expected or high growth. The state average shows a decline from 88 percent in 2009-10.
Interim Superintendent Hugh Hattabaugh called the district-wide results “mixed” and said three consecutive years of budget cuts and layoffs may have contributed to the decline. He said the district will continue initiatives led by former Superintendent Peter Gorman to improve next year’s results.
“We don’t want to move backward in any area,” Hattabaugh said. “We’ve made great progress since 2006 and we will work in the coming year to get the district and its students moving ahead again. We think our Pre-K-8 schools, as well as our initiatives such as Strategic Staffing, will help us make more progress in 2011-2012.”
Under the state standards, schools making expected or high growth where 90 to 100 percent of students pass the end-of-grade or end-of-course tests are named Honor Schools of Excellence if Adequate Yearly Progress is made and Schools of Excellence if Adequate Yearly Progress is not made.
Schools where 80 to 89 percent of students are proficient are named Schools of Distinction, schools where 60 to 79 percent of students are proficient are named Schools of Progress and schools where 50 to 59 percent of students are proficient are named Priority Schools.
Schools with less than 50 percent proficiency are considered Priority Schools if they make expected or high growth, and Low-Performing Schools if they make less than expected growth.
Adequate Yearly Progress is a component of the federal No Child Left Behind program, which sets target goals for all racial, ethnic and income level subgroups. The 2010-11 targets for elementary school students were 71.6 percent proficiency in reading and 88.6 percent proficiency in math. For high school students, the targets were 69.3 percent proficiency in reading and 84.2 percent proficiency in math. The targets increase periodically to move closer to the required 100 percent target for the 2013-14 school year.
High Growth Schools:
Honor Schools of Excellence
Ardrey Kell High
Ballantyne Elementary
Collinswood Language Academy
Community House Middle
Eastover Elementary
Elizabeth Lane Elementary
Elon Park Elementary
Jay M. Robinson Middle
McKee Road Elementary
Olde Providence Elementary
Polo Ridge Elementary
Providence High
Providence Spring Elementary
South Charlotte Middle
Schools of Distinction
Alexander Graham Middle
Carmel Middle
Chantilly Montessori
East Mecklenburg High
Endhaven Elementary
Myers Park High
Myers Park Traditional
Selwyn Elementary
South Mecklenburg High
Schools of Progress
Oakhurst Elementary
Rama Road Elementary
Priority Schools
Oakhurst Elementary
Expected Growth Schools:
Honor Schools of Excellence
Beverly Woods Elementary
Hawk Ridge Elementary
Park Road Montessori
Randolph IB Middle
Smith Academy of
International Languages
Schools of Distinction
Crestdale Middle
Lansdowne Elementary
McAlpine Elementary
Sharon Elementary
Schools of Progress
Cotswold Elementary
Greenway Park Elementary
McClintock Middle
Montclaire Elementary
Quail Hollow Middle
Priority Schools
Winterfield Elementary
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