Parent Teacher Magazine Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools January 2014 | Page 14

CMS takes top honors in national academic assessment
District is No. 1 in math and No. 2 in reading in grades 4, 8
Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools had the highest scores in math among
21 urban districts participating in the National Assessment of Education
Progress (NAEP) and was second-highest in reading. The assessments, given
to a sampling of fourth- and eighth-graders in a group of districts across the
country, are aligned with the Common Core standards being adopted by many
states, including North Carolina.
The tests in math and science are given every other year. The 2013 results
for the 21 cities, called the Trial Urban District Assessment (TUDA), showed
very little change from the scores in 2011.
“We are pleased to see that our students are ahead of many others in
the Trial Urban District Assessment – but we remain concerned that the
scores overall are not as high as we want them to be,” said Dr. Heath E.
Morrison, superintendent of Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools. “Like our state
test scores, which were higher than the average for North Carolina, this shows
that Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools is further along than many others in
successfully teaching to the Common Core State Standards. But we still have
much work to do.”
Each NAEP test in math and reading has a maximum score of 500. In
fourth-grade math, CMS students had an average score of 247, which was
higher than North Carolina’s average (245), the large-city average (235) and
the national public average (the average for public schools nationwide) of 241.
The CMS score was unchanged from 2011.
In eighth-grade math, CMS students had an average score of 289, up four
points from 285 in 2011. The district average was higher than North Carolina’s
(286), as well as the average for large cities (276) and national public (284).
In fourth-grade reading, CMS students had an average score of 226, higher
than every other TUDA district except Hillsborough County (Tampa), Florida.
The CMS score was two points higher than in 2011 and higher than North
Carolina’s (222), as well as the average score for large cities (212) and national
public (221).
In eighth-grade reading, the CMS score was 266, higher than the average
score for North Carolina (265), large cities (258) and the same as national

12 • January/February 2014 • Parent Teacher Magazine 

public. The district’s scores rose one point from 2011.
The 2013 assessments marked the 10th year that CMS has participated
in the NAEP Trial Urban District Assessment. Since entering the assessment in
2003, the average scores in CMS have increased. In fourth-grade math, scores
have risen five points since the initial assessment. In eighth-grade math, CMS
scores have risen 10 points. Scores have also risen in fourth-grade reading by
seven points and in eighth-grade reading by four points.
“These new national assessment data clearly show good news for the
Charlotte-Mecklenburg public schools on two fronts: They remain at the top
of the heap compared with other major school systems across the country,
and they continue to improve,” said Michael Casserly, executive director of the
Council of the Great City Schools. “The community deserves to be proud of the
excellence its schools continue to demonstrate for the nation.”
The National Assessment of Educational Progress is the largest nationally
representative, continuing assessment of what the nation’s students know
and can do in selected subject areas. Students are tested in math, reading,
science, writing and other areas. Because the NAEP assessments are uniformly
administered using the same sets of test booklets across the country, the
results provide a common metric that allows comparison of states and cities.
The assessment als