Chatham County Schools Continues to Climb: Making Significant Academic Gains in 2023-24
Chatham County Schools Continues to Climb: Making Significant Academic Gains in 2023-24
NCDPI Accountability Data shows Chatham continues to top state results
CHATHAM COUNTY (September 5, 2024) — Students in Chatham County Schools made strong academic gains on state assessments during the 2023-2024 school year, according to accountability data released by the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction on September 4, 2024.
"Our performance is a testament to the hard work, intentional focus, and belief in our students exemplified by our staff," said Superintendent Dr. Anthony Jackson. "Looking ahead, our One Chatham Strategic Plan includes specific goals, strategies, and tools to ensure continued academic growth and success for our students. We continue to make strong progress toward our vision of preparing all students for the bright and prosperous future of their choice. However, we will not be satisfied until every student is performing at or above their potential. There is much to celebrate in Chatham."
Highlights of the 2023-2024 accountability data for Chatham County Schools included the following:
84% of schools received a school performance grade of C or better
58% of schools Met or exceeded Growth (11 schools)
26% of schools Exceeded Growth (5 schools)
CCS 4 year graduation rate of 89.7% is the highest it has been in the last 20+ years
CCS 5-year graduation rate is above 90%
2 CCS schools moved up a full school letter grade (North Chatham and Pittsboro)
9 CCS schools 47% of schools increased overall school performance grades
9 CCS schools had 100% of student groups meet or exceed growth
Chatham County Schools outperformed North Carolina on 22 of the 26 performance categories or 85%. Chatham exceeded the state average in the following areas:
Overall performance composites for all levels
Grades 3-8 math EOG
Grades 4-8 reading EOG
5th grade science
Math 1
Graduation rate 4 and 5 year
English II
Biology
ACT
Workkeys
Math Course Rigor
84% of the schools in the district earned a School Performance Grade (SPG) of C or better, up 10% from the previous year. School Performance Grades are based 80% on a school’s achievement score and 20% on students’ academic growth.
“We are extremely proud of how well our schools performed, and want to celebrate the work students and staff members put in to achieve this.” said Dr. Amanda Moran, Assistant Superintendent of Academic Services & Instructional Support. “Our teachers and support staff work extremely hard to provide every student with a high-quality educational experience each and everyday.”
Overall, the distribution of Performance Grades across the district were as follows:
A-1 school
B-6 schools
C-9 schools
D-2 schools
F- 1 school
Across the state, the number of low-performing schools, which received a D or F and did not exceed growth was 736 for the 2023-2024 school year. Chatham has 2 schools that will be designated as low performing, down from 4 in the previous year.
Graduation data:
The 4-Year Rate for Chatham moved up to 89.7%, besting the state 4-Year Rate by 2.8%; while the 5-Year Rate is increased to 90.1%, compared to the state 5-Year Rate of 87.9%. This was the highest graduation rate recorded in Chatham County Schools history that the district could locate.
The Class of 2024 earned over $36 million in scholarship money, of that money awarded, over $18 million was awarded to students enrolled in the AVID program
97% of the Class of 2024 were accepted into a 2 or 4-year college or university, with 91% showing post-secondary plans to attend an institution of higher education.
Additional data findings for Chatham County Schools include:
Reading EOG - 55.5 (Grade Level Proficient) - 5.4 points above the state
Math EOG - 58.9 (GLP) - 4.3 points above the state
Science - 68.8 (GLP) - 0.8 points above the state
High School EOCs - 54.3 (GLP) - 1.5 increase from 2022-23 and 1.6 above the state
"These results highlight that Chatham County Schools is an excellent place for learning," Jackson said. "We embrace our challenges and have already begun developing support plans for our schools. We also have incredible opportunities ahead, and while we celebrate our progress, we know our best days are still to come. I am incredibly proud of our students, staff, and to be part of the Chatham County Schools family."
Testing data reports will be posted on the accountability section of the district website (www.chatham.k12.nc.us) after the Sept 9th board of education meeting where the district will give a full review of the results.
The student achievement data for the 2023-2024 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 Study in English Language Arts (Reading) and Mathematics and the Essential Standards in Science for all public schools in North Carolina. The data provide the percentage of students who scored at Level 3 and above (grade level proficiency — GLP), at Level 4 and above (college- and career-readiness — CCR) and at each academic achievement level.
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