Growth Measurement Favorable for Many in Beaufort County | Eastern North Carolina Now

For Immediate Release 

    The North Carolina Department of Public Instruction has released the results for the 2010-2011 ABCs of Public Instruction. This is North Carolina’s measuring stick for student growth that predates No Child Left Behind and Adequate Yearly Progress.

    “We believe this measurement paints a much clearer picture regarding the progress of our schools and most importantly our students,” explained Dr. Don Phipps, Superintendent of Beaufort County Schools. “A model that focuses on academic change or student growth, allows one to look at the student, teacher, school and system levels. The growth model accounts for student differences while incorporating a growth standard. We have gotten used to focusing on a proficiency number that in reality tells much less than the growth or academic change metric. If our schools - and our system - meet Expected Growth, they are moving in the direction we want. High Growth, which is defined as expected growth plus ten percent, is even better and will be required of our schools that have posted low proficiency scores in the past as we move toward stronger student performance. As long as we are making growth we are moving forward.”

    The ABCs of Public Education measures the growth of students. Schools are then given recognition status based upon their results.



    Beaufort County Schools saw 9 of 14 schools meet Expected Growth or better for the 2010-2011 school year. This is down from 12 of 14 for 2009-2010. The system met Expected Growth as a whole, which is significant. As a system, Beaufort County Schools has met Expected Growth or better for the past three years, with High Growth met in 2009-2010.

    Two schools posted the top recognitions status available. The Beaufort County Early College High School had a composite score of 97.3% and was recognized as an Honor School of Excellence. This is the second consecutive year the Early College High School has received the top award.

    Chocowinity Primary School posted a 90.6% composite score for the year and was also awarded Honor School of Excellence standing. Both school’s scores are up from the 2009-2010 year where the Early College received 93.9% and Chocowinity Primary School received 87.2%. Both schools met Expected Growth for 2010-2011.

    “We are tremendously proud of the accomplishments of these schools. Many best practices in education are going on at each location. We will seek to apply the practices to schools across our system,” according to Phipps.

    Bath Elementary, Northside High and Southside High were each deemed as a School of Distinction for their progress in 2010-2011. Bath Elementary School received an 83.8% composite score, which is up from 81.8% for 2009-2010. Northside High School scored 81.8% and met Expected Growth. This was another improvement from 2009-2010 where they posted a 78.2% score. Southside High School received 80.2%, along with Bath Elementary School, meeting High Growth. Southside also improved from 2009-2010 where they were at 76.6%.

    “It is important to look at each individual school, where they began and where they ended. Southside High School sits at the middle of the pack when simply looking at overall numbers, but what must be noticed is this school had the highest overall growth of any school in our district,” Phipps said. “We will look at how they accomplished this and see what can be learned to benefit other schools.”

    Schools of Progress for 2010-2011 were Northeast Elementary School and Washington High School. Northeast finished the year with a 78.1% composite score, up from 2009-2010’s 73.8%. They also met High Growth qualifications for the year. Washington High School posted 71.7% for the recent school year. This is a slight decline from the 74.2% for 2009-2010. Washington High School met Expected Growth.

    Chocowinity Middle School did not receive recognition for 2010-2011 due to not meeting growth expectations. They received a 69.7% composite score for the year. This was slightly down from 2009-2010’s 70.3%.

    P.S. Jones Middle School came in next with a 69.4% score and a School of Progress distinction. This is an increase from 66.5% the year prior. The school met Expected Growth.

    John Cotten Tayloe Elementary School did not receive recognition, due to not achieving growth expectations. The school saw a slight increase to 68.2% from 68.1% for 2009-2010.

    John Small Elementary School posted 64.4% for the year and did not meet growth. This is down from the 65.6% for 2009-2010.

    S.W. Snowden Elementary School finished the year with 58.6% and met High Growth expectations. This is an increase from 53.2% in 2009-2010. They are listed as a Priority School. “The results at S.W. Snowden are very promising. While the proficiency number is lower than we would like,” Phipps explained, “the fact that it has improved – along with high growth being made – things are moving in the right direction. We are working to maintain High Growth at S.W. Snowden and recreate a culture of success built on high expectations and rigor.”

    The Beaufort County Ed Tech Center, the county’s alternative school with a largely fluctuating population compared to most schools, increased to 20.6% for the year from 18.1% in 2009-2010. The school did not receive recognition due to not achieving growth for the year.

     Eastern Elementary School, who does not hold state testing due to the grades housed, is considered a K-3 feeder school and receives the same status as the grade 4 school, John Small Elementary School, they feed into. This is a very unique structure among feeder schools.