NCDPI: 2023-24 Accountability Report Shows Continued Academic Growth for North Carolina Students

North Carolina students continue to see gains in most grades and subjects, according to the 2023-24 state test results presented to the State Board of Education today. Schools also showed progress on accountability measures.

RALEIGH - North Carolina students continue to see gains in most grades and subjects, according to the 2023-24 state test results presented to the State Board of Education on Wednesday. Schools also showed progress on accountability measures.

For the second year in a row, North Carolina students performed well in math, seeing an increase in students performing at both college-and-career readiness (CCR) and grade-level proficiency (GLP) in all grades from third to eighth, as well as in both NC Math 1 offerings. For students achieving grade-level proficiency in math, these areas saw increases up to 2.1 percentage points from the 2022-23 school year. There was a decrease in NC Math 3 scores, from 58.3% to 57.6% this year.

School Performance grades continue to show a steady increase of schools earning an A, B or C, while the number of schools earning a D or F declined nearly two percentage points. The number of schools exceeding or meeting growth increased as well. Approximately 72.5% of schools met or exceeded growth in 2023-24, compared to 72.3% in 2022-23 and up from 69.6% in 2021-22.

English Language Learners (EL) saw significant gains as well.  There has been a steady increase in the percentage of students meeting progress targets or exiting English learner status over the past three years. In 2021-22, the percentage was 21.1, which increased to 24.9 in 2022-23 and then to 27.3 in 2023-24.  In comparison to last year and when reported separately, students exiting the program grew by nearly half a percentage point, and those meeting annual progress grew by nearly two percentage points.

Graduation rates are also on the rise. The state’s four-year cohort graduation rate increased slightly to 86.9%, from 86.5% in 2022-23.

“We are proud of the steady progress reflected in this year's state test scores. This progress highlights the hard work and incredible dedication of educators and students across the state,” said State Superintendent of Public Instruction Catherine Truitt.

“The data in the accountability report provides us with a clear picture of what’s going well in our schools and what areas need additional support,” she added. “This year’s data shows us that we’re headed in the right direction in most areas, but that we must remain committed to advocating for additional support for our teachers.”

The student achievement data for the 2023-24 school year is based on analysis of all end-of- grade (EOG) and end-of-course (EOC) tests, which are aligned to the North Carolina Standard Course of Studyin English Language Arts (Reading) and Mathematics and the Essential Standards in Science for all public schools in North Carolina. The data provides the percentage of students who scored at Level 3 and above (grade-level proficiency), at Level 4 and above (college-and-career readiness) and at each academic achievement level. There are four achievement levels for state testing: not proficient, 3, 4 and 5, with 5 representing the greatest mastery of the subject matter.

Overall, the 2023-24 test results showed an increase in the percentage of students who are college-and-career ready and grade-level proficient.

Students saw slight increases in most reading testing areas, but experienced declines in fourth and seventh grade reading. For students scoring grade-level proficient, scores increased up to 2.2 percentage points, while the decreases were 2.5 and 1.8 percentage points, respectively. English II scores increased to 59.5% from 58.3% in 2022-23. As with reading, student achievement in science varied with nearly a percentage point increase in fifth grade science and decreases for eighth grade science and biology.

“As a state, we have invested an incredible amount of time and effort into teaching our elementary students essential literacy skills using the science of reading. But many of our literacy supports fall off after third grade, and this year’s data shows us that focusing on elementary students, specifically kindergarten through third grade is not enough. We must invest in similar, developmentally appropriate professional learning for middle and high school teachers as well. This was a critical piece of our legislative agenda for the short session and must be something the legislature considers in the long session,” Truitt said.

With 72.5% of schools meeting or exceeding growth in 2023-24, schools continued to show progress on accountability measures. The A-F School Performance grades are calculated by combining the percentage of students earning a score of at least grade-level proficiency with growth. Growth is measured by a statistical model that compares each student’s predicted test score, based on past performance, against his or her actual result. Test scores are weighted at 80% of the performance grade, while growth only accounts for 20%.  Also, all schools’ percentage of English learners meeting their progress targets is included in the school performance grade.

High schools also incorporate four-year graduation cohort rates, math course rigor and the percentage of students reaching the minimum ACT score for admission to University of North Carolina campuses or the percentage of students achieving a silver certificate or higher on the WorkKeys assessment into their school performance grade. The percentage of 11th graders achieving the UNC minimum of 19 was 40.2 in 2023-24, compared to 41.1 in 2022-23.

“Throughout my tenure as state superintendent, I have advocated for a new way of calculating school performance grades. The current model puts far too much emphasis on a single-day's test scores, and doesn’t take into account the many other factors, such as durable skills, post-secondary outcomes and school climate that impact both school quality and student success,” Truitt said.

Under the current school performance grade model, schools that receive a D or F performance grade and do not exceed growth are identified as low-performing.  For 2023-24, the number of low-performing schools decreased from 804 to 736 from the year before, and the number of low-performing districts also decreased to 23 from 25.

“We know that educators’ commitment to student growth is the cornerstone of continued progress and learning,” said Tammy Howard, the senior director of accountability and testing for the N.C. Department of Public Instruction. “While test grades and letter outcomes cannot tell us everything we need to know about school and student success, North Carolina continues to see growth for most grades and subjects. This is something to be proud of.”

*** Go here for complete 2023-24 results for the state, districts and schools, under the 2023-24 “Reports” heading and the 2023-24 Annual Testing Report - Includes Performance, School Performance Grades, and Long-Term Goals under the “Documentation” heading. ***