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CMS lowers some academic goals as it heads to vote on upcoming goals and guardrails for 2024

In the weeks of back and forth when discussing the goals, the conversation about whether the goals were realistic took center stage.

MECKLENBURG COUNTY, N.C. — The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools board is getting closer to voting on its upcoming district goals for academic achievement for the next four years.

For weeks, the board has debated on what goals the district should set out to both challenge the district and have a guiding light to shape board directives that are student-focused. 

Every five years, CMS centers itself around new goals and guardrails that can range from increasing literacy among elementary school students to ensuring a safe environment for its students at school activities. 

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CMS Superintendent Crystal Hill made a final recommendation on four goals for the 2024 through 2029 school years. 

First, students in kindergarten through second grade scoring at or above grade level in early literacy will go from 67% to 91% by 2029. It was previously at 97% percent before board members knocked this goal down at a previous meeting.

“There is absolutely no way we can require our staff to have 97% in anything, we're just setting them up to fail," CMS Board Member Melissa Easley said at a previous board meeting.

Experts say the hallmark of a good goal needs to be specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and timely. In the weeks of back and forth when discussing the goals, the conversation about whether the goals were realistic took center stage.

District leaders and board members used historical and most-recent state testing data to derive what they thought were realistic but still challenging goals. 

Tuesday night, parents and community members finally got a chance to weigh in on the goals.

The second goal gained some criticism.

"My suggestion is to modify to increase the target to at least 70%," Munro Richardson, the executive director of the community initiative Read Charlotte, said. 

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Read Charlotte was created in 2015 after test scores indicated only 40% of Charlotte’s third-graders were reading on grade level. Through a public-private partnership, the group supports local partners to apply evidence-based knowledge about effective reading instruction and interventions, high-quality execution, continuous improvement, and data analysis to improve reading outcomes. Currently, 46.3% of CMS third graders are reading at or above grade level or above. 

Goal 2 would increase reading scores. The percentage of third- through eighth-grade students scoring at college and career levels in reading increasing from 30.5% to 50% by June 2029.

This goal was also lowered from the last meeting. It was previously suggested to rise to 65%. 

"In the last three years, white and Asian students are already above 50%," Richardson said. 

Richardson said the goal would not challenge CMS to do better for other students like those who speak multiple languages. 

"If we don't keep our eye on how we increase reading achievement for this important group, we're not going to hit our goal and may unwittingly contribute to achievement gaps," Richardson said. 

Goal 3 would increase the percentage of students scoring college and career-ready on Math I assessment from 27.4% in September 2023 to 57% by June 2029. Goal 4 would start to track -- and try to increase -- the percentage of rising 12th-grade students on track to graduate from high school who go to college, in the military, or go directly into a career.

The CMS board will vote on the goals and guardrails at its Oct. 24 meeting. 

Contact Shamarria Morrison at smorrison@wcnc.com and follow her on FacebookX and Instagram. 

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