| County, city schools see growth in proficiency | ||
By FULLER ROYAL Fifteen schools in the Columbus County and Whiteville City units saw increases in their overall proficiency rates, according to the newly released results of the North Carolina ABCs of Education Report. After last year’s massive drop in scores – thanks to an unprecedented adjustment of math scores by the N.C. Department of Public Instruction – 13 of the county’s 20 schools experienced growth in the proficiency levels. Last year, only four schools grew. In the city schools, two schools experienced increases in the total number of proficient students. In the county, 13 schools made expected growth. Eight made high growth. All five city schools made expected growth. None made high growth. Statewide, 71.8 percent of the public schools made expected or high growth in the 2006-07 school year, up 17.5 percentage points over the 54.3 percent that achieved growth targets in the 2005-06 school year. In the Columbus County Schools, 48.4 percent of all students in grades three through eight were proficient in reading and math. That’s an increase over last year’s proficiency rate of 43.7 percent. The county tested 3,130 students. Countywide, white students were 60.4 proficient. Multi-racial students were 53.8 percent proficient. Hispanic students were 40.0 percent proficient. American Indian students were 40.7 percent proficient. Black students were 33.3 percent proficient. Overall, the county’s white females were the most proficient at 61.4 percent. Black males were the least proficient – 28.4 percent. The other gender/race groups were white male, 59.4 percent; multi-racial male, 55.6 percent; multi-racial female, 52.4 percent; Hispanic male, 42 percent; Hispanic female, 39.8 percent; and black female, 38.2 percent. The other countywide categories and their proficiency rates included: students with disabilities, 19.5 percent; non-disabled students, 52.3 percent; academically gifted, 95 percent or more; autistic, 42.9 percent; behaviorally-emotionally disabled 9.5 percent; educable mentally disabled, less than 5 percent; multi-handicapped, 13.3 percent; other health impaired, 15.7 percent; specific learning disabled, 7.7 percent; speech-language impaired, 48.8; and trainable mentally disabled, 50 percent. The federal government’s No Child Left Behind laws look only at the proficiency rates in reading and math to determine Adequate Yearly Progress status. The proficiency rates in reading and math are presented here and show how various subgroups performed. To determine if expected or high growth is attained, the state looks at the reading and math proficiency rates and adds to them the writing and computer test scores. Acme-Delco Elementary Overall, the school was 42 percent proficient on reading and math, meaning two out of five students were working at grade level. Writing and computer scores pushed the proficiency level to 60.4 percent. Acme-Delco Middle White males outscored the remaining students with a proficiency rate of 48 percent. Hispanic females scored the lowest – 20 percent. Writing and computer scores pushed the proficiency level to 60 percent. Cerro Gordo Elementary White males led the scores with a 60 percent proficiency rate while black males came in last with a 26.3 percent proficiency rate. Writing and computer scores pushed the proficiency level to 65.3 percent. Chadbourn Elementary White females had a proficiency rate of 46.7 percent. Only 13.5 percent of the school’s black males are proficient in reading and math. With writing scores factored in, the school had a composite score of 44.8, a 10-point drop since the previous year. Evergreen Elementary Hispanic males had an 80 percent proficiency rate in math and reading. Black males had a proficiency rate of 57.1 percent. Writing and computer scores pushed the proficiency level to 77.3 percent. In reading, black females had the highest proficiency rate – 93.9 percent. Countywide, black females were only 39.6 percent proficient in reading. The lowest proficiency rate in reading at Evergreen belonged to black males – 71.4 percent, significantly higher that the county average in reading for black males – 62.3 percent. In math, Hispanic females had the lowest proficiency rate at Evergreen – 60 percent – while Hispanic males had the highest math proficiency rate - 80 percent. Fair Bluff Elementary Seventy-two students were tested and only 18.1 percent were proficient in reading and math. This was the only school in either local system where black males had the highest proficiency rate – 18.2 percent– and white males trailed – 14.3 percent. Guideway Elementary Black males were 7.1 percent proficient. Guideway has the largest contingent of Hispanic students in the county. Hispanic females were 30 percent proficient and Hispanic males were 35.3 percent proficient. Writing and computer scores helped push the proficiency level to 53.3 percent. Hallsboro-Artesia Hispanic females and white females shared the highest proficiency rate – 83.3 percent. American Indian females had the lowest proficiency rate – 33.3 percent. Writing and computer scores helped push the proficiency level to 66.7 percent Hallsboro Middle White females had the highest proficiency rate – 57.8 percent. Black makes had the lowest – 26 percent. Writing and computer scores helped push the proficiency level to 61.1 percent Old Dock Elementary White females had the highest proficiency rate – 66.9 percent. Hispanic males fared the poorest – 23.1 percent. Writing and computer scores helped push the proficiency level to 70.7 percent. Tabor City Elementary Writing and computer scores helped push the proficiency level to 67.9 percent. Tabor City Middle White females were 76 percent proficient – the highest rate in the school. Black males were 34.2 percent proficient – the lowest rate. Writing and computer scores helped push the proficiency level to 59.8 percent. Williams Township The highest scoring group – white females – was 66.3 percent proficient. The lowest proficiency rate belonged to black males at 17.6 percent. Writing and computer scores helped push the proficiency level to 71.8 percent. Whiteville City Asian students had the highest proficiency rate – 83.3 percent. Hispanic students had the lowest – 46.3 percent. The others were: white, 79.6 percent; multi-racial, 71.1 percent; female, 68.6 percent; male, 59.7 percent; American Indian, 50 percent; and black, 47.8 percent. In the gender-race subgroups, white females had the top proficiency rate – 82.3 percent. Hispanic females had the lowest rate – 38.9 percent. The other categories, in descending order, were: Asian females, 80 percent; white males, 77 percent; multi-racial females, 73.9 percent; multi-racial male, 68.2 percent; American Indian male, 60 percent; black female, 55.8 percent; Hispanic male, 52.2 percent; American Indian female 40 percent; and black male 39.3 percent. In other categories, students with disabilities had a 17.6 percent proficiency rate. Non-disabled students were 68.7 percent proficient. Academically gifted students were 95 percent or more proficient while less than 5 percent of the behaviorally-emotionally disabled students were proficient. Fifty percent of the speech-language impaired students were proficient while 9.3 percent of the educable mentally disabled students were proficient. Students classified as specific learning disabled had a proficiency rate of 14.8 percent while less than 5 percent of students with other health impairments were proficient. Edgewood Elementary Central Middle High Schools The city and county’s four traditional high schools all suffered slight decreases in their total proficiency ratings. East Columbus High On its end-of-course tests, multi-racial students scored the highest – 57.1 percent proficient. Black students had the lowest proficiency rate – 33.5 percent. Demographically, Hispanic males had the highest EOC test results scoring at 77.8 percent proficient. Black males had the lowest proficiency rate in EOC tests – 31.8 percent. South Columbus High However, it was less than a point behind the county’s new Southeastern Early College which had an overall proficiency rate of 60.8 percent. SCHS’s highest scoring students on the EOC tests were white 70.3 percent proficient. The lowest proficiency scores –50 percent – belonged to multi-racial students. In the gender/race subgroups, the highest proficiency rates belonged to Hispanic females at 73.3 percent. The lowest were American Indian males at 20 percent. Southeastern West Columbus High White students had a 61.7 percent proficiency rate while Hispanic students were at the other end of the spectrum with a 35.7 percent proficiency rate. White females had the highest proficiency rate among the gender/race subgroups – 67 percent. Hispanic males had the lowest – 28.6 percent. Whiteville High School White students at WHS were 73.5 percent proficient. Black students were 40.2 percent. White females, among demographic groups, had the highest proficiency rate –74.7 percent. Black females had the lowest – 39.4 percent. Charter Schools Its sister school, Charter Day School in Leland, does have its results. With 369 students tested, Charter Day had a 77.5 performance composite score, down one point from the previos year and down 14 points from its once high of 91.9 percent proficient. Like all other state schools, it took a hit when the math scores were adjusted last year. Multi-racial students had the highest proficiency rate at 76.9 percent. Black students were lowest at 36 percent. In the demographic subgroups, multiracial males had the highest proficient rate – 85.7 percent. The lowest rate belonged to black females – 33.3 percent. Next year, the state will again raise the bar on the minimum scores to be conssidered profiicent. It is also expected to adjust its reading scores, which many at the State Board of Education feel are too high. Local administrators say that next year’s reading scores will take a severe hit just as last year’s math scores did.
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