The initial 2014-15 school performance indicators have been released by the State Board of Education. Initial information was approved and released during the regular September meeting of the State Board of Education. Detailed performance results including individual school report cards are scheduled for release by the state in October. North Carolina has had a school accountability program since 1996. In 2012-13 the state strengthened its accountability model and launched the READY initiative to overhaul the Standard Course of Study, student assessments and school accountability. Now, all three are aligned to rigorous career and college readiness standards.
North Carolina’s academic performance model continues a long-standing practice of increasing rigor in curriculum and assessments. The state will continue to report academic growth rates and the percentage of students scoring proficient on state assessments. Growth reflects the progress students made during the school year. Performance standards are higher than in the past, which makes it more difficult for some students to reach proficiency. The released school performance indicators are available online at http://www.ncpublicschools.org/. The following compares Haywood County Schools to statewide performance.
| Performance Composite | Academic Growth | |
| North Carolina | 56.6 | 72.3% |
| Haywood County Schools | 66.6 | 73.3% |
| Bethel Elementary | 80.1 | Not Met |
| Bethel Middle | 68.9 | Met |
| Canton Middle | 64.0 | Not Met |
| Central Elementary | 62.6 | Met |
| Central Haywood High | 20.4 | NA |
| Clyde Elementary | 72.6 | Exceeded |
| Riverbend Elementary | 88.1 | Exceeded |
| Haywood Early College | 81.8 | Met |
| Hazelwood Elementary | 69.2 | Met |
| Jonathan Valley Elementary | 69.7 | Met |
| Junaluska Elementary | 78.7 | Met |
| Meadowbrook Elementary | 67.6 | Exceeded |
| North Canton Elementary | 70.0 | Exceeded |
| Pisgah High | 58.4 | Not Met |
| Tuscola High | 58.1 | Not Met |
| Waynesville Middle | 62.4 | Met |
Among the 115 school districts in North Carolina, Haywood County Schools ranks 15th based upon the district performance composite. The performance composite represents a combination of all state tests for schools in each district. Academic growth is a measure of learning during a school year. Growth is given a designation of not met, met or exceeds depending on the amount of progress students made from the beginning of the year to the end of the year.
In 2013-14 the state began issuing school letter grades that are based upon 80% of the performance composite and 20% of the growth score. In 2013-14 Haywood County Schools was one of only 8 districts to have no “D” or “F” schools. In 2014-15, Haywood County Schools remained in the elite group of school districts with no “D” or “F” schools. The number of districts in the category will be calculated and released as additional state data is analyzed. The following chart presents the percentage of schools by letter grade for all North Carolina schools, charter schools and Haywood County Schools.
| Letter Grade | All NC Schools | Charter Schools | Haywood County Schools |
| A or A+ | 2.1% | 7.5% | 13.3% |
| B | 19.1% | 44.8% | 53.3% |
| C | 43.3% | 21.6% | 33.3% |
| D | 29.4% | 18.7% | 0% |
| F | 6.1% | 7.5% | 0% |
“We will dig into the state data as it is released through October” said Associate Superintendent Bill Nolte. “At first glance we are pleased but certainly not satisfied. While we outperformed one hundred other districts and had better overall letter grades than other schools, we always believe we can do better.”
Individual school report cards will be issued by the State Board of Education in October. “We will distribute the report cards when released and use that data to build any plans that we need to improve performance or growth” said Superintendent Anne Garrett. “We are happy to remain among the state’s highest performing districts and will continue to focus on continuous improvement.”
Contact: Dr. Bill Nolte, Associate Superintendent