Cherokee County Schools is celebrating highlights from results of the latest N.C. Report Cards, which evaluates test results and growth from each school and awards letter grades based on the results.
But over all, Cherokee County Schools performed slightly worse than the previous year, with one school, Tri-County Early College High, dipping from an A to a B, and one, Peachtree Elementary, dipping from a B to a C. All other campuses received the same letter grades as the previous year – all C’s and one D, at Andrews Elementary School.
Sifting through the data, Cherokee County Schools officials found numerous bright spots, however. Four Cherokee County Schools campuses exceeded growth expectations – Andrews Elementary, Andrews Middle, Murphy Elementary and Murphy High, according to documents presented to the school board Thursday.
Superintendent Keevin Woody described the growth index as like running around a track. One lap is comparable to meeting growth; more than a lap exceeds growth, while less than a lap falls short of meeting growth.
There were other highlights.
One school, Hiwassee Dam Elementary/Middle, ranked first among western North Carolina counties and tied for first in the state for fifth- and eighth-grade science achievement scores. Hiwassee Dam is now just a middle school, with its former elementary students now attending Ranger Elementary.
Woody said the schools’ performance shows effective leadership and staff at the schools, as well as hard work by the students.
The information presented to the school board last month was selective, did not include consistent information about each of the schools and only showed letter grades for two schools – Murphy High and Tri-County Early College High, which each earned B’s.
Letter grades are calculated using a school’s testing achievement score (80% of the grade) and growth score (20%). With C being average, C’s are the most common grade awarded throughout the state.
In many cases, Cherokee County Schools performed well compared to six surrounding counties in the far-west corner of the state. That would include Clay, Graham, Jackson, Macon, Swain and Transylvania.
Individual school reports
According to the report presented to the school board, Murphy Elementary had the highest overall growth score (89 out of 100) among elementary schools in the surrounding counties. It was in the top 9% in overall growth index and fourth highest in math growth. It received a C grade overall for the third straight year.
Murphy High had the highest growth score (86) among high schools in surrounding counties and the highest school grade overall, receiving a B grade for the third straight year.
Tri-County Early College also received a B, down from an A the previous year but still a notable achievement. Its growth score was 75 out of 100, and its achievement score was 82 out of 100, the highest in the county.
Andrews Elementary had the fourth highest overall growth score (87) among surrounding counties and was in the top 16% in western North Carolina. It still received a D over all, the third straight year it received that grade, due to its low achievement score (42 out of 100, although 1.7 higher than the previous year).
Andrews Elementary increased its growth index by one point and grew two points on its school performance grade over the previous year (from 49 to 51 out of 100).
Andrews Middle performed well compared to other middle schools in surrounding counties. It has the highest science achievement score, reading achievement score and math growth score, was second in math achievement and fourth in reading growth. It was in the top 16% in growth index. Andrews Middle received a C for the third straight year.
Other high scores from the report include:
- Andrews High: second highest English II proficiency among surrounding counties. It received a C over all for the third straight year.
- Hiwassee Dam Elementary/Middle: second highest math performance grade and fourth highest school performance grade. The school closed its elementary school this year, transferring those students to Ranger. It received a C for the third straight year.
- Hiwassee Dam High: met growth, placed second in ACT/WorkKeys assessment combined indicator scores in western North Carolina (and top 7% in the state), third highest WorkKeys in the west and highest cohort graduation rate in the west. It received a C for the third straight year.
- Martins Creek Elementary/Middle: highest fourth-grade reading performance, second-highest eighth-grade science achievement, fourth-highest eighth-grade achievement, sixth-highest school performance grade and sixth-highest reading achievement among surrounding counties. It received a C for the third straight year. The school closed its middle school this year, moving those students to Murphy Middle.
- Murphy Middle: second highest reading achievement and reading growth and fourth highest science proficiency. It received a C for the third straight year.
- Peachtree Elementary: highest reading achievement and math achievement scores in the west. It received a C, down from last year when it received a B.
- Ranger Elementary: barely missed meeting growth, placed third in eighth-grade science achievement, fifth-highest fifth-grade science achievement and sixth-highest math performance scores. It received a C for the fifth straight year.
- Tri-County Early College: second highest biology and English II scores, fifth highest ACT/WorkKeys, top 7% in school performance grade and top 10% in academic achievement (math and reading) in the west.
Neighboring counties
In Graham County, Robbinsville Elementary improved from a D to a C over the past year, Robbinsville High stayed steady with a C, but Robbinsville Middle School received an F, down from a D it received the previous two years.
In Clay County, Hayesville Elementary received a B for the second straight year, Hayesville Middle received a C for the fifth year in a row, and Hayesville High received a B for the fourth year in a row.
In Macon County, its four elementary schools all received C’s, Macon Middle School received a C, Franklin High received a C, Macon Early College High received a B, and Macon Virtual Academy received an F for the second year in a row. Among its two K-12 schools, Highlands received a C and Nantahala received a D.
In Swain County, Swain County High School, Swain County Middle School and Swain County West Elementary all received C’s. Swain County East Elementary received a D.