By FULLER ROYAL
Staff Writer

While the actual math scores from last year’s End-of-Grade tests for grades three through eight weren’t released to the public last week, the new proficiency scores for each school were, and with the math scores factored in.

And the results were anything but good for state and local schools. The result is a major decline in proficiency rates for all but a handful of schools in the state.

Locally, the new math numbers have drastically reduced scores, virtually erasing the progress that the Columbus County and Whiteville City schools had made during the decade since the N.C. ABC’s of Education was started.

“Today’s results mark the beginning of a new cycle of accountability for North Carolina,” said State Superintendent June Atkinson. “The State Board of Education has set a higher standard for academic rigor to help our students be prepared for the 21st Century competitive world.”

Students who were scoring high in math year after year have found themselves in lower categories – many of them no longer ranked as proficient.

As many as 2,000 students in the city and county systems may find themselves in remedial math summer school next year if they want to be promoted to their next grades.

The cost of summer schools in local systems could be hundreds of thousands of dollars.

The math scores are mired in controversy. At the recommendation of the U.S. Department of Education, the State Board of Education adjusted the difficulty of the end of grade math exam to better reflect an alignment with national averages.

To accomplish this, the board increased the number of correct answers required to be labeled proficient.

“The math curriculum is more rigorous and challenging and so are the tests that measure it,” said State Board of Education Chairman Howard Lee. “This is the first time that North Carolina has reset standards since our state began the accountability program.

“We believe it is essential for schools to raise expectations to help every child be prepared.”

The state hasn’t released a statewide average nor a breakdown of how each subgroup – male, female, black or white – fared.

That information will not be released until the N.C. Report Cards are released in December.

The adjustment of math scores brought the elementary and middle schools more in line with the proficiency rates of the high schools, which have been significantly lower than the elementary and middle school proficiency rates.

The highest proficiency rates in either local system belong to Whiteville High School and Edgewood Elementary School, each with 68.1 percent of their students performing at grade level.

Only eight schools in both systems had at least 60 percent of their students working at grade level.

The lowest proficiency rates went to Nakina Alternative School (21.6 percent) and North Whiteville Academy (39.1 percent). Both have a non-traditional student population.

The remaining schools scored in the 40s and 50s.

Of the 2,300 public schools statewide, only 64 were honor schools of excellence. They had proficiency rates of 90 percent or better plus they made Adequate Yearly Progress and met expected growth.

Only four area schools were honor schools of excellence. All four were in New Hanover – Eaton, Ogden, Codington and Parsley elementary schools.

Statewide, 305 schools were schools of distinction with proficiency rates of 80 percent or better.

Brunswick County had one school rated – Virginia Williamson Elementary. New Hanover County had four schools of distinction – Holly Tree Elementary, Hoggard High School, Myrtle Grove Elementary and Winter Park Elementary.

Pender had three schools of distinction Topsail High, Topsail Middle and South Topsail Elementary.

Whiteville City and Columbus and Bladen counties had none.

Sampson County’s Early College High School was a school of distinction.

Statewide, only 263 schools made high growth. Only South Columbus High School made high growth from the two local systems.

Across North Carolina, 1,276 schools made expected growth. SCHS, Acme-Delco Elementary, Chadbourn Elementary, Central Middle School and North Whiteville Academy made expected growth,

There are 54 schools in North Carolina classified as low-performing (less than half of the students proficient.) Fair Bluff Elementary and Tabor City Middle are in this boat.

The North Carolina Department of Public Instruction Associate Superintendent for Curriculum and School Reform Services Dr. Elsie Leak will bring a plan for providing assistance to low-performing elementary and middle schools to the State Board of Education in December.

Statewide, there are 344 priority schools with proficiency rates below 60 percent including nine in Bladen County, two in Brunswick County, one in New Hanover County and 18 in Robeson County.

There are 11 priority schools in Columbus County and Whiteville.

In North Carolina, 1,043 schools made AYP while 1,267 did not. Only Chadbourn and Evergreen elementary schools made AYP.

Charter Day School in Leland had a proficiency rate of 78.8 percent, met expected growth and high growth and made AYP.

Roger Bacon Academy, which operates Charter Day School, will open Columbus County’s first charter school in August 2007.