NORTH CAROLINA HIGHLIGHTED IN EDUCATION WEEK'S "QUALITY
COUNTS AT 10"
North Carolina's focus on standards-based education and
accountability over the past decade has paid off in improved student
achievement, according to Education Week's "Quality Counts at 10" report. North
Carolina is one of five states—along with Delaware, Massachusetts, New York,
and Texas—to be highlighted in this annual report of states' educational
progress.
The study noted North Carolina's performance because of
its strong school accountability measures, which pre-date the federal No Child
Left Behind law by nearly a decade. North Carolina's end-of-grade testing
program began for grades three through eight in 1993, followed in 1996 by the
start of the ABCs of Public Education accountability model. The state's
policies related to professional support and training for teachers were also
important factors in boosting the state's scores in the report.
Mathematics results were singled out as particularly
encouraging nationally and for North Carolina, which led the nation in
mathematics gains since 1992. Nationally, National Assessment of Educational
Progress (NAEP) scores in fourth-grade mathematics have increased by 18.5
points, or nearly two grade levels, since 1992. Grade eight mathematics
performance improved by 10.7 points. The state's gains were 28.4 points at
grade four and 23.4 points at grade eight. North Carolina was one of only seven
states with gains in mathematics that significantly outpaced the nation as a
whole both in grades 4 and 8, the two grades assessed through NAEP. The other
noteworthy states in this category are Arkansas, Delaware, Louisiana,
Mississippi, South Carolina, and Texas.
North Carolina (32.0) ranks above the national average
(30.6) in 2005 NAEP Proficiency (average of 4th- and 8th-grade reading and
math). However, the state ranks below (64.6) the national average (69.4) in
2002 Graduation Rate.
In contrast to the nation's mathematics performance, the
national average in reading barely moved from 1992–2005, inching up just 2
points in grades 4 and 8. Delaware was the only state whose gains significantly
outpaced the national average in both grades 4 and 8.
As in years past, the 2006 report also tracked student
achievement across the 50 states and the District of Columbia and awarded
letter grades to states' education systems in four areas: standards and
accountability; efforts to improve teacher quality; school climate and school
resources; and the equity of school finance systems. States averaged a C+ across
the graded categories, the same as last year.
North Carolina's report card in comparison to the average
state (letter appearing in parentheses was last year's score):
North Carolina
Average State
Standards and Accountability
B (B)
B-
Efforts to Improve Teacher Quality
B (B)
C+
School Climate
C+ (C+)
C+
Resource Equity
C- (C+)
C
Overall Grade
C+
C+
Standards and Accountability: North Carolina does well
largely because of school accountability measures. The state sanctions and
provides assistance to low-performing schools and rewards high-performing or
improving schools. The grade suffers because the state lacks assessments
aligned to standards at the elementary and middle school levels in science and
social studies. The Efforts to Improve Teacher Quality:North Carolina benefited from well-written professional development standards and state-financed professional
development for all districts. The state received full credit for policies
related to professional support and training and fared well in accountability
for teacher quality.
The report also takes a closer look at which states have
made significant progress in closing achievement gaps between black and white,
Hispanic and white, and poor and non-poor students.
Nationally, the achievement gap narrowed significantly
between black and white students in math in both grades 4 and 8, and between
Hispanic and white students in grade 4. The largest gap-closing on NAEP—nearly
9 points—was found between black and white students in 4th-grade math. There
was no significant gap-closing in reading nationally. North Carolina
experienced significant gap-closing between black-white students in grade 4
math.
North Carolina (32.0) ranks below (27.2) the national
average (26.2) in 2005 NAEP Poverty Gap in Proficiency.
For more information about Quality Counts and North
Carolina public schools, please contact the NC Department of Public
Instruction's Communications division at (919) 807-3450. The full report is
available for all 50 states and the District of Columbia at www.edweek.com.
CHARLOTTE-MECKLENBURG SCHOOLS TOP OTHER CITIES IN NAEP
TRIAL
The Charlotte-Mecklenburg public schools outperformed ten
other urban school districts in a special assessment of the National Assessment
of Educational Progress (NAEP), also known as the Nation's Report Card,
according to the Trial Urban District Assessment (TUDA).
Charlotte-Mecklenburg's performance in 2005 reflected
improvements over 2003 on every measure except for eighth-grade reading.
Charlotte-Mecklenburg's performance on the fourth- and eighth-grade reading and
mathematics assessments was higher than the results released in October for
North Carolina overall.
The Trial Urban District Assessment is a project of the
National Center for Education Statistics, the National Assessment Governing
Board, and the Council of Great City Schools. TUDA assessed representative
samples of fourth- and eighth-grade public school students in 2005 from Atlanta,
Austin, Boston, Charlotte, Chicago, Cleveland, the District of Columbia,
Houston, Los Angeles, New York City, and San Diego in mathematics and reading.
In 2002, the first year of the TUDA project, five urban districts participated,
but Charlotte-Mecklenburg was not included in that initial year. The five
original districts were Atlanta, Chicago, the District of Columbia, Houston, and
Los Angeles.
Charlotte-Mecklenburg's average mathematics scores were
244 for fourth graders and 281 for eighth graders in 2005. In 2003, the average
scores were 242 for fourth graders and 279 for eighth graders. The average
mathematics scores for the nation's public schools were 237 at the fourth grade
and 278 at the eighth grade. For the large central cities in the TUDA, the
average mathematics scores were 228 for fourth grade and 265 for eighth grade.
In reading, Charlotte-Mecklenburg's 2005 scores were 221
for fourth grade and 259 for eighth grade. In 2003, the district's average
fourth-grade reading score was 219 and the average eighth-grade score was 262.
The average reading scores for the nation's public schools were 217 at the
fourth grade and 260 at the eighth grade. For the large central cities in the
TUDA, the average reading scores were 206 for fourth grade and 250 for eighth
grade.
Charlotte-Mecklenburg's results were higher than North
Carolina's results, which were released on October 19. For more information about the North
Carolina state results, click here.
In addition to providing scale scores, the NAEP also
reports the percentage of students considered to be at or above the NAEP Basic
level. Charlotte-Mecklenburg's performance was much more positive than the
other urban areas in the trial assessment. For example, 86 percent of
Charlotte-Mecklenburg's fourth-grade student sample was at Basic or better in
mathematics as compared to 67 percent for large central cities overall. For
eighth graders, 69 percent in Charlotte-Mecklenburg were at Basic or better
compared to 53 percent for large central cities overall.
In reading, 65 percent of Charlotte-Mecklenburg fourth
graders were at Basic or better, as compared to 48 percent of the urban
districts on average. For the eighth grade, the figures were 69 percent for
Charlotte-Mecklenburg and 60 percent for the urban districts' average.
For more information on the NAEP, click here.
back to top NORTH CAROLINA LEADS NATION IN NEW CERTIFICATIONS AND
TOTAL NUMBER OF BOARD CERTIFIED TEACHERS
North Carolina remains the leader in the number of
teachers achieving National Board Certification and the total number of
National Board Certified teachers, according to results released today by the
National Board for Professional Teaching Standards.
This year's addition of 1,537 newly-certified teachers
and counselors—the largest class in the country—brings the state's total
number of National Board Certified teachers and counselors to 9,818.
Nationwide, 7,289 teachers and counselors earned certification this year,
bringing the national total to 47,501.
In addition, Wake County Public Schools and
Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools were among the top five districts in the nation
based on the number of newly-certified teachers. Wake County came in second
with 165 and Charlotte-Mecklenburg came in third with 148. Broward County,
Florida, placed first with 185 newly-certified teachers.
National Board Certification was first offered in 1994,
when eight North Carolina teachers achieved this professional credential. Since
then, the number of North Carolina teachers receiving the certification has
grown dramatically equaling almost ten percent of the state's teaching force. In
addition, National Board teachers and counselors are working in each of the
state's 115 local school districts.
North Carolina supports teachers in their efforts to
achieve National Board Certification by:
paying
up-front the $2,300 assessment fee (As a condition, the teacher is obligated to
teach in the state during the following year whether they achieve National
Board Certification or not.);
providing
three paid release days from normal teacher responsibilities to help teachers
develop their portfolios;
providing
a 12-percent salary supplement to the teachers' regular salary upon receipt of
National Board Certification (good for the ten-year life of the certification); and
awarding fifteen continuing education units (CEUs) to the individual completing the National
Board Certification process.
Also, the State Board of Education awards a North
Carolina teaching license to out-of-state teachers who are employed in North
Carolina and who possess National Board Certification.
National Board Certification is the highest credential in
the teaching profession and participation is voluntary. Teachers achieve
certification through a rigorous performance-based assessment that takes
between one and three years to complete and measures what accomplished teachers
and counselors should know and be able to do. Certification is currently
available to educators in 27 fields.
An independent, multi-year study of North Carolina's
National Board Certified teachers and elementary student performance released
in March 2004 found that there is a correlation between certification and
improved student performance. Gains were particularly pronounced for younger
and lower-income students.
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