CHARLOTTE, N.C. — New state data shows that Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools students saw some gains in reading and math scores since last year. However, district leaders are not celebrating the large achievement gaps in the academic success of its Black and Latino students.
According to the data, Black and Hispanic students at CMS did better in the school year 2022-23 compared to students in the same demographics in the rest of the state. However, within its own classrooms, Black and Hispanic students are not seeing the same results as white and Asian students in the district.
For example, more than 60% of Black students in CMS are testing below grade level in reading, compared to 24% of white students. The achievement gaps between Black and white students in CMS are similar to the gaps seen statewide and nationally.
"Historically we've had white and Asian students that outperform Black and Hispanic students. That is absolutely unacceptable," Crystal Hill, CMS's Superintendent said. "We have some very clear plans that we have in place to close those gaps."
There is some good news, however. Black students at CMS also saw one of the largest improvements in moving from below grade level to at or above grade level from year to year.
This suggests that the district's efforts to improve education for all students are starting to have an impact.
Schools that saw growth and improvements in their Black and Latino student's testing scores had a few common denominators. One of them was principals who focused on this population.
“We begin to move the academic needle by making sure that all students had access to high-quality instruction when it came down to the core of math, reading, and science," Kyerra Oglesby, Newell Elementary School principal said.
One persistent issue in schools seeing low achievement scores can be the quality of instruction. Strong instruction partly comes from having both experienced teachers and principals in charge.
CMS said it's diverting resources to low-performing schools.
"A lot of those schools will receive an experienced principal coach that will support them. That will work with them to give them feedback," Melissa Balknight, CMS's Deputy Superintendent said, "to be their thought partner to make sure there's another set of hands on the school that can provide and support them with their leadership."
CMS has not yet accomplished closing the gap between Black and white students at CMS schools. However, the district has plans to do so. These plans include replicating strategies from schools that already made improvements, providing more resources to schools with high concentrations of Black and Latino students, and hiring more qualified teachers.
The achievement gaps in CMS are a long-standing problem, but the district is making some progress, although it's not where district leaders said they want it to be.
One example can be seen at West Charlotte High School. The campus has a long and storied history, but it has also faced its share of challenges. In recent years, West Charlotte has been struggling academically, and it received a D on its most recent state report card.
There are a number of factors that contribute to West Charlotte's academic struggles. The school has a high concentration of minority and low-income students, who are often at a disadvantage in the classroom.
"There are a number of different nuances that go into why students are not achieving," Kellie Cartwright, MeckEd CEO said. "It has a lot to do with the environment. So they're walking into school from it has a lot to do with the test themselves."
Cartwright is both a former teacher and now the CEO of MeckED, a youth education program focused on getting CMS students college and career-ready. It partners with schools like West Charlotte to fill in the gaps and give students practical applications to the work they learn in school.
"We will provide those extra resources that make it to make sure that that student addresses any barrier that will keep them from that work-based learning experience," Cartwright said.
She said it's important that both the community and families not use misinformation or disinformation to process school grades or achievement scores for students.
"We absolutely cannot make the mistake of reducing our students are educators down to a school grade or down to a test score," Cartwright said.
Students from low-achieving schools sometimes come from homes with fewer resources, and they may have to deal with other challenges, such as food insecurity or language barriers.
"A lot of the issues surrounding why students aren't achieving are systemically intentional, we've got issues now surrounding policy and legislation that are not student-centered, they are not education first," Cartwright said.
She also said acknowledging some students face different systemic challenges doesn't mean they are held to a lower standard.
"I saw a quote from Dr. Hill that said that these grades and these test scores are not a reflection of the potential of the student or the ability of the teacher I think that says it so well," Cartwright said.
Despite these challenges, West Charlotte is making progress. In the most recent school year, the school exceeded growth in student achievement.
"It's been over six years since West Charlotte has exceeded growth," Orlando Robinson, West Charlotte High School Principal said.
This means that West Charlotte students are on a quicker path than other schools in the state to increase their testing scores.
Robinson said they have a long journey ahead of them but have to celebrate and acknowledge the wins they do get.
Continuing coverage
This is the first part of a continuing series where WCNC Charlotte is examining test scores from CMS.
In the second part of this series, WCNC Charlotte examined data for all students broken down by school. The DPI said more than seven of every 10 schools achieved or exceeded goals for academic growth, while the proportion of schools that did not meet expectations was just a single percentage point higher than the 2018-19 school year. More than one in four of nearly 2,600 schools earned an A or B for School Performance Grade, while about every two out of three earned a C or better.
CONTINUE TO PART TWO: See data broken down by CMS school
Contact Shamarria Morrison at smorrison@wcnc.com and follow her on Facebook, X and Instagram.