Shamrock Gardens Elementary, the local public school, with its long history of low achievement and its ranking as one of the lowest-performing schools in the state, wasn't even in the running. What a difference a year has made. Shamrock Gardens' progress, and that of all but two of the 14 other schools that were deemed low-performing by North Carolina last year, has won the praise of state officials. North Carolina officials say that holding students to high standards is important, but that ratings must reflect both actual student performance and improvement. Other states that are trying to hold schools more accountable for student achievement are also grappling with how to accurately and fairly judge school performance and progress.
Some states put greater emphasis on the actual performance of schools.
Illinois issues warnings to those that don't have at least half of all students scoring at grade level on state tests. Texas grants its highest rating only to those schools with at least 90 percent of students passing each subject area on state tests. Others, like North Carolina, weigh both performance and progress. That calls into question whether our standards are high enough, and if it's too easy to play the game. Indeed, just 1 percent of the state's 1,700 elementary and middle, and nearly 4 percent of its 400 high schools, are low-performing under the accountability plan, which rewards schools that meet or exceed expectations and institutes progressive levels of state intervention for those that do not.