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Scores Up, but Schools Miss Goal: 7 Now Face Changes Due to Pass Rates Below 60% on State Tests

Posted on: Saturday, 24 June 2006, 06:00 CDT

By Peter Smolowitz, The Charlotte Observer, N.C.

Jun. 24--State test scores improved at most of Charlotte-Mecklenburg's lowest-performing high schools, district leaders announced Friday. They said the results show their reforms are working.

But the schools remain well short of goals set by the governor, a Wake County Superior Court judge and county commissioners who gave money when CMS pledged to boost scores at three high schools.

Seven schools must now make changes because their pass rates remained below 60 percent for a second straight year, said the CMS official who oversees high schools and a spokeswoman for Gov. Mike Easley.

Two of those schools, Garinger and Olympic, already plan changes. They're launching "academies" in August to make larger high schools smaller and more personal.

It's not clear how the other schools -- Berry, Harding, Waddell, West Charlotte and West Mecklenburg -- will be "restructured." Likely themes will be ways to replace rote learning with creative thinking and to establish smaller settings.

An eighth school, Northwest, slipped below the 60 percent threshold. It could be forced to make changes next year if the pass rate remains that low.

At the seven other schools below 60 percent, principals must either be replaced or undergo training, said Easley spokeswoman Sherri Johnson. That's true even of two CMS principals who just finished their first year at their schools.

Teachers will also receive training in how to better teach courses that students aren't mastering.

Easley's plan, which he announced this month, could affect another 34 schools statewide. More details are expected in July, after some final state calculations and the arrival of new CMS Superintendent Peter Gorman.

Friday's results are preliminary. Final high school results should come next month after other factors are added, such as scores for students in special education.

Next year, Easley will increase the pressure. High schools must have 70 percent pass rates, a standard only three Charlotte schools -- Butler, Myers Park and Providence -- now meet.

'An urgency'

High school scores have become CMS's most glaring academic weakness. The results on tests in 10 subjects inched upward last year. District leaders predicted most of this year the school system would make larger strides.Pass rates climbed by at least 5 percentage points at four of the 10 high schools that were targeted by Judge Howard Manning Jr. Last year, he described their performance as "academic genocide" because their pass rates were below 60 percent.

One of Manning's assistants said he would not comment Friday because he hadn't had time to review the CMS results.

Three of those schools -- East Mecklenburg, Independence and Vance -- now have pass rates topping 60 percent. Those schools are located in the so-called middle ring, between downtown and the suburbs. Their improvement could also help stem the loss of middle-class families from those schools.

"We know we need to show more improvement next year," said Assistant Superintendent Bill Anderson, who oversees high school curriculum. "Time is what we need. We're proving that we are showing success."

But school board member Kaye McGarry said more progress is needed sooner. "We set the bar too low," McGarry said. "We've got to make a leap."

Gorman said he's pleased with his new staff's results -- he called it "great work." And he agreed more improvement is needed.

"There is an urgency," Gorman said. "That doesn't sell to the public, 'Just give me more time,' if that is all we are saying. We have also got to work harder and faster."

He wants to analyze some reform efforts to see which work best. "Our budget is too tight to keep doing things that aren't working."

What This Means to Schools

State tests have become increasingly important in recent years. They're used to help determine whether students move up, whether teachers get bonuses and what state and federal ratings schools receive.

Most of those answers will come in October, when North Carolina releases official scores. Many school systems haven't released 2006 results, but CMS usually analyzes preliminary scores to judge whether the district is meeting its goals.

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Copyright (c) 2006, The Charlotte Observer, N.C.

Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News.

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Source: The Charlotte Observer (Charlotte, N.C.)

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