Granville Co. Public Schools Continues to Make Progress in Improving Student Achievement
-Press Release, Granville County Public Schools
On Wednesday, September 5, 2018, the NC State Board of Education released standardized test data for all public schools across the state for the 2017-2018 school year. The results for Granville County Public Schools (GCPS) show that overall, the district continues to make progress in improving students’ academic success. Generally speaking, 15 schools met or exceeded growth: 7 of 19 schools “exceeded growth”, and 8 of 19 “met growth” as measured by the state.
Additionally, students’ proficiencies increased in 9 out of 17 EOG and EOC tested grade level and content areas. Furthermore, 9 schools achieved double-digit increases in proficiency in at least one tested area, and 4 schools experienced 20+ point gains in proficiency in at least one tested area. Finally, our 12th-grade students across the district also outperformed other students from across the state by six percentage points on the ACT WorkKeys Assessment, which is designed to measure workplace readiness. GCPS students performed at 74.2% on the assessment while the state average was 68.2%.
Letter grades assigned by the state fluctuated slightly compared to previous years. The following graph shows letter grade distribution for all schools since the state began assigning letter grades:
| 2013-14 | 2014-15 | 2015-16 | 2016-17 | 2017-18 |
| A – 0 | A – 1 | A – 1 | A – 1 | A – 1 |
| B – 2 | B – 1 | B – 3 | B – 4 | B – 4 |
| C – 9 | C – 8 | C – 10 | C – 9 | C – 7 |
| D – 6 | D – 6 | D – 6 | D – 4 | D – 6 |
| F – 2 | F – 3 | F – 0 | F – 0 | F – 0 |
As reported by the NC Department of Public Instruction, “school grades continue to correlate closely with the poverty levels of schools. Among schools where more than 81 percent of students come from low-income families, 69 percent of the schools received a D or F.” This correlation also held true for all of the schools in Granville County that received a letter grade of “D”.
Superintendent McLean provided her perspective on the results, “While I am certainly pleased to see many positive areas in this data, there is still much room for improvement. Our goal is for every student to experience significant growth in every area. We believe that ALL students are capable of reaching their full potential, and we will not rest until this goal is achieved.”
With changes in school leadership and modified instructional supports in place, academic improvements are expected in the coming school year. For additional information, please visit the NCDPI Accountability website, which provides detailed data.