Gaston sees increase in student proficiency on state tests
More schools exceed academic growth expectations; middle schools experience highest gains
Gaston County Schools continues to see a
steady increase in overall student proficiency
and academic growth on end-of-grade and end-
of-course state tests, according to information
released by the North Carolina State Board of
Education.
For the 2016-2017 school year, 55.0 percent
of students scored a Level III, IV, or V on the
state tests. The READY state accountability
program designates students with a Level III,
IV, or V score performing at or above grade
level expectations.
The overall student proficiency on end-of-
grade and end-of-course state tests increased
again. Student proficiency is 2.1 points higher
than last year when Gaston’s overall score was
52.9 percent. In 2013-2014 when the state
implemented new testing standards under the
READY accountability program, Gaston had 50.2
percent of students scoring a Level III, IV, or V.
Collectively, the most significant gains in student proficiency occurred at
the middle school level. All of the district’s 11 middle schools saw increases
ranging from +2.4 to +10.1 over last year. Cramerton, Holbrook, Grier, and
Chavis had the highest increases.
At the high school level, Hunter Huss achieved a double-digit increase in
student proficiency (+10.3 over last year).
In its first year as a STEAM magnet school for grades K-5, Hawks Nest
saw a +18.2 increase over the previous year’s proficiency score for Hawks
Nest Intermediate School (grades 4-5). Additionally, Pleasant Ridge (+7.9)
and Pinewood (+5.7) had notable increases at the elementary level when
compared to 2015-2016.
Additionally, Gaston had more schools to exceed academic growth
expectations, increasing from 20 schools last year to 22 schools this year.
Academic growth indicates whether students achieve a year’s worth of
academic progress for a year’s worth of instruction. Growth is reported in one
of three ways: Exceeded Growth, Met Growth, or Did Not Meet Growth.
“We continue to see steady improvement in academic achievement,
which is encouraging for our schools and our community,” stated
Superintendent of Schools W. Jeffrey Booker. “We are proud of our increases
in student proficiency and academic growth and appreciate all that our
schools did to focus on higher academic performance.”
Booker added, “While we are seeing gains in student achievement, we
want more substantial increases. We will analyze the test data to identify our
strengths and weaknesses and develop strategies to ensure that our students
achieve at an even higher level. We are making academic progress, and we
are confident that our efforts will result in higher student proficiency and
higher academic growth for our schools.”
Students in grades 3-8 take end-of-grade tests in reading and math, and
fifth and eighth graders also take an end-of-grade science test. High school
students take end-of-course tests in Math I, Biology, and English II. The
district had its most significant subject area improvements in seventh grade
math (+8.8) and in eighth grade science (+5.6).
Additionally, the READY test data is used to determine the School
Performance Grades, which were assigned for the first time in 2014. A
school’s performance letter grade is determined using a formula based only
6 • November/December 2017 • Parent Teacher Magazine
on two factors – student achievement (80
percent) and student academic growth (20
percent).
The School Performance Grade should
not be interpreted as a comprehensive
evaluation