Currituck, Camden lead on report cards

Pasquotank scores below state averages

By Kristin Pitts
Staff Writer

Thursday, October 29, 2009

Area school districts pass out hundreds of report cards every year, but on Thursday, the tables were turned.

Although report cards judge a number of categories, Camden and Currituck County Schools came out ahead across the Albemarle with most student end-of-grade testing scores and teacher ratings meeting or exceedingstate averages.

Pasquotank County Schools lagged behindwith lower than average test scores and half of the district’s schools not meeting adequate yearly progress.

Out of the five area districts, all Camden, Currituck and Perquimans schools met adequate yearly progress.

The report cards, which analyze everything from school safety to student testing to teacher quality take an in-depth look at the 2008-2009 school year. Report cards for every school in the state are available online at www.ncreportcards.org.

Pasquotank County

Pasquotank County elementary schools fell short of state averages in performance on the ABCs of Public Education end-of-grade tests. Overall, the district came in at 56.9 percent of students at or above their grade level in reading and 68.3 percent in math, shy of the state’s average 67.6 percent in reading and 80 percent in math.

Pasquotank elementary schools fared better in the teaching category, matching the state’s 98 percent of teachers being fully licensed and 100 percent of classes taught by highly qualified teachers. They surpassed the state average of 27 percent of teachers with advanced degrees, with 31 percent of faculty with advanced degrees.

Testing performance lagged behind in the district’s middle schools, with 67.6 percent of students’ scores at or above their grade level in reading and 68.3 percent in math.

Pasquotank County High School, Elizabeth City Middle, H.L. Trigg Community, J.C. Sawyer Elementary, Northeastern High, and Pasquotank Elementary did not make adequate yearly progress.

“Elizabeth City-Pasquotank Public Schools will continue to seek ways of closing the achievement gap and to increase performance for all students,” said Frank Heath, assistant superintendent of curriculum and instruction.

Currituck County

Currituck County elementary schools surpassed the state’s average percentage of students performing at or above their grade level. The schools hit 80.5 percent in reading and 89.5 percent in math, compared with the state average 67.6 percent in reading and 80 percent in math.

Elementary schools fared well in the teaching category, surpassing the state’s percent of teachers with advanced degrees and fully licensed teachers, and coming in under the state’s teacher turnover rate.

Currituck middle schools were a standout, beating the state averages in student testing with 80.5 percent in reading versus the state’s 67.6 percent, and 89.5 percent in math versus the state’s 80 percent.

The middle schools also performed well in the teaching category, beating the state average for teachers with advanced degrees, classes taught by highly qualified teachers, and fully licensed teachers. The schools also showed a higher percentage of experienced faculty and a lower than average teacher turnover rate.

All Currituck County Schools met adequate yearly progress.

Camden County

Camden County elementary schools performed well in student testing and teaching categories. The group outperformed state averages by more than 10 percent in reading and math. The district’s elementary school teachers beat the state average for fully licensed teachers and teachers with advanced degrees, and matched the state average for classes taught by highly qualified teachers.

The district also boasted a higher than average percentage of teachers with 10 years or more of experience, and came in well under the state’s 12 percent teacher turnover rate, with no turnover.

Camden Middle beat state averages in reading and math, and beat state averages in fully licensed teachers and classes taught by highly qualified teachers. Teachers fell 3 percent behind the state’s average for teachers with advanced degrees, but beat the average for percentage of teachers with 10 years or more of experience.