School test results
While overall test scores fell substantially in the 2020-21 school year, which was heavily affected by COVID-19, Cherokee County Schools’ assessment results closely mirror those at the state level.
The district’s overall scores on the set assessment results were 46.3 percent at level three or above and 28 percent at level four and above. The statewide average was 45.4 percent level three or above and 29.6 percent level four or above. Superintendent of Public Instruction Catherine Truett has said test scores will not be counted against districts or students this year.
“We’re above the state average here and there, and below it in places,” Cherokee County Schools Superintendent Jeana Conley said. “We’re extremely comparable to the surrounding counties.”
Conley pointed out how the scores would be used by the district and by the state.
“It’s for us to see where we need to go with our kids,” she said. “It’s going to help us form our next step, because, of course, during COVID we lost a lot of quality time, so this will help us carve out where we need to go to get all the kids caught up."
Conley said the district would use personal assessments of each student to help determine what academic issues needed to be addressed the most.
“The teachers are attempting to try to meet each student on their level,” she said, “and we’ve hired extra personnel. Also, I’m really pleased that we have N.C. Education Corps people who are coming in to help us identify is gaps in reading at the lower grades.”
Conley said elementary level literacy was one of the district’s challenges. The test results showed that 46.6 of Cherokee County Schools third-graders scored above average on the reading assessment.
She emphasized the fragility of the situation, and said that going to virtual learning in a quarantine situation again would have considerable detrimental effects on students.
“It’s unrealized learning, untapped potential that we’ve just not had time to access yet, and the fear that another shutdown will hamper the momentum,” Conley said. “We have been weathering the quarantines, but another shutdown would be devastating at this point."
The district has seen lower numbers of both quarantines and positive COVID-19 cases since the implementation of a mask mandate in early September. However, the news wasn’t all grim.
“It always feels good to know that you are consistently in line with the state and the surrounding counties,” Conley said. “That means that we are kind of in the same boat as everybody, and we’ve been on the right track.”
Another positive surprise from the data was the news that Cherokee County Schools 96.9 percent four-year graduation rate is the highest high school graduation rate in the region. The new data showed a drastic jump from the 76.2 percent graduation rate in the 2019-20 school year.
In 2018-19, the number was 92.5 percent. The state average for 2020-21 is 86.9 percent.
“That's phenomenal,” Conley said of the graduation rate.
The district also saw 59 percent of its students that took the ACT score 17 or above.
“A hard as online learning is, the truth is, a lot of kids are more adept at it than we want to give them credit for,” Conley said.
The highest-scoring school in the district was Hiwassee Dam Elementary/Middle School, which reported 62.9 percent scoring level three or above and 47.8 percent scoring Conley lauded former principal Ruby Cutshaw for her work preparing students for testing.
“Ruby is a real stickler for the curriculum and firm on task,” Conley said.
However, she also said in a smaller school like Hiwassee Dam, a small number of students could make a major difference in results.
“We're very proud of how they did, but in some of the smaller schools, if you miss one or two, then you didn't really test the standard number,” Conley said.