At its September Board of Education Meeting , Union County Public Schools ( UCPS ) released several accountability measures for the 2016-17 school year . The report included information about School Performance Grades , Grade Level Proficiency , State Assessments and School Performance Growth . The state of North Carolina provided a preliminary report on Sept . 7 at the State Board of Education meeting . Highlights of the report show that two schools ( East and Benton Heights elementary schools ) moved out of low-performing status . The two elementary schools exceeded growth and will not be identified on the state ’ s lowperforming list . Also , more schools exceeded growth than in 2015-16 , more schools earned an A or higher designation and UCPS still has the highest graduation rate among the 10 largest districts in North Carolina .
Since 2013 , North Carolina public and charter schools have received a letter grade under the General Assembly ’ s A-F School Performance Grades
UCPS announces accountability results for 2016-17
Thirty-two percent of schools earned an A + ( NG ) or A designation and 70 percent of schools earned an A +( NG ), A or B designation . This is an increase of nearly 17 percent from 2015-16 .
Union County Early College , and Piedmont and Cuthbertson high schools .
Eight schools improved their School Performance Grade . Kensington earned a B in 2015-16 and an A +( NG ) in 2016-17 . Sun Valley Elementary , Union Elementary , Piedmont Middle and Porter Ridge Middle and Parkwood High earned a C in 2015-16 . These schools have earned a B for 2016-17 . Monroe Middle ’ s grade rose from a F to a D in 2016-17 and Marshville Elementary rose from a D to a C in 2016-17 .
“ I want to commend our principals , administrators , teachers and students for their hard work ,” said Dr . Andrew Houlihan , Superintendent of Schools . The graduation rate and other accountability results show that our school leaders and teachers are moving students in the right direction and I am very proud of each of them . We still have more work to do and I am confident that the resources and support we have in place will improve teaching and learning in UCPS .”
The UCPS four-year graduation cohort rate for 2016-17 is 92.5 %. UCPS still holds the highest graduation rate among the 10 largest school districts in North Carolina . This is the fifth
Highlights from the results show more schools exceeded growth than in 2015-16 , more schools earned an A or higher designation and UCPS still has the highest graduation rate among the 10 largest districts in North Carolina .
legislation . School Performance Grades are based on 80 percent of the school ’ s achievement score and 20 percent of students ’ academic growth . There are 53 schools in UCPS and 50 were scored using this model . Three schools , Wolfe , Walter Bickett Education Center and South Providence , were not scored because they do not the fit the NC Performance Grades model .
Ten schools earned a designation of A +( NG ), the most in a four-year period . In addition , 32 percent of schools earned an A + ( NG ) or A designation and 70 percent of schools earned an A +( NG ), A or B designation . This is an increase of nearly 17 % from 2015-16 .
The schools with an A +( NG ) designation are Antioch , Kensington , Marvin , New Town , Sandy Ridge , and Weddington elementary schools ; Central Academy of Technology and Arts ,
14 • Nov / Dec 2017 • Parent Teacher Magazine
2016-17 READY Accountability Data Highlights :
• 82 percent of schools either met or exceeded growth in the 2016-17 school year .
• 43 percent of schools exceeded growth , compared to 24 % in 2015-16 .
• The number of schools exceeding growth in 2016-17 was the highest in the last three-year reporting period .
• 70 percent of schools earned an A +( NG ), A or B designation . This is an increase of 17 % from 2015-16 .
• Overall , Grade Level Proficiency ( GLP ) and College and Career Ready ( CCR ) scores are the highest in a three-year reporting period . CCR is 64.5 % in 2016-17 , compared to 62.6 % in 2015-16 . GLP is 72.8 % compared to 71.1 % in 2015-16 .
consecutive year the district ’ s four-year graduation cohort rate has exceeded 90 percent .
Eight of the district ’ s 12 high schools had a graduation rate of 90 % or higher . Two high schools , Union County Early College and Marvin Ridge High , earned a 100 % graduation rate . Schools that scored above 90 percent are Central Academy of Technology and Arts ( 99.5 ), Cuthbertson ( 98.3 ), Parkwood ( 90.8 ), Piedmont ( 94.6 ), Porter Ridge ( 94 ), and Weddington ( 98.9 ).
“ Union County Public Schools is committed to college and career readiness ,” Dr . Houlihan said . More students are graduating from our schools prepared for a post-secondary education or the workforce and I celebrate these accomplishments with our counselors , school leaders and parents .”
— This article was provided by the Union County Public Schools Communications Office .