In the student growth data recently released by the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction, two out of the three districts that fully reached their growth goals are local: Orange County Schools and Chatham County Schools.
The state, which published its annual accountability report on Wednesday, measures growth by using a statistical model for comparison between each student’s testing results and their predicted test scores based on past performance. Measuring the children’s success across all subjects, each school in a North Carolina public district is identified as having ‘Exceeded,’ ‘Met’ or ‘Not Met’ its growth targets laid out by the state to encourage student development.
For Orange County, all 13 of its schools finished in the ‘Exceeded’ or ‘Met’ categories — marking the first time the district has reached 100% of its school meeting student growth benchmarks. It comes after also seeing improvement in 2023-24 for most of its schools, moving all but one (Central Elementary School) to a “C” performance grade or higher and reaching five schools at a “B” grade for the first time since 2017.
In a release from the district about the growth data, Orange County Schools Superintendent Danielle Jones said she believes the achievement is a reflection of the community’s unity “in the belief that every single child can be successful” and putting that belief into practice.
“With 100% of our schools meeting or exceeding growth, every one of our schools has many reasons to be proud,” Jones said. “The consistent effort of our educators and the alignment of our resources and support are helping to set children in Orange County Schools on a path to brighter futures. We are proud of the work that we are doing. We also see where we can continue making improvements that ensure every child is supported. We will continue pursuing our shared goal for every student to graduate with all options open to them in employment, further education, or enlistment.”
Additionally, Chatham County Schools saw all of its school campuses meet or exceed growth in 2024-25 and broke a district record with 68% of the districts schools reaching the ‘Exceeded’ benchmark. Two of its schools — Siler City Elementary and Chatham Middle School — saw enough student growth to raise their performance grade a full letter and move them up from the state’s “low-performing school” designation. Chatham Early College saw its performance grade reach an “A” designation, having met or exceeded student growth for all nine academic years since it was founded. The Chatham County district also saw its graduation rate surpass 90%, which is better than the state average.
Superintendent Anthony Jackson said in a release the results are an encouraging sign of how both Chatham County Schools’ strategic plan and feeder pattern from elementary to high schools are working.
“This year’s results tell a powerful story of what’s possible when a community believes in its students,” he wrote. “Excellence is no longer the exception in Chatham County Schools — it’s the expectation. Across every feeder pattern, every school, and every classroom, our students, teachers, and families are proving what is possible when innovation, equity, and high expectations come together. ONE Chatham is truly working for ALL students.”
Joining Orange and Chatham County’s school districts with 100% of schools meeting growth targets was the Edenton-Chowan School District in Eastern North Carolina, which has four total schools.
Across North Carolina, the Department of Public Instruction reported nearly 71% of schools met or exceeded growth in the 2024-25 academic year, with fewer schools designated as low-performing than the year prior. Students also reached a three-year high in standardized test performance and the highest graduation rate in a decade (87.7%).
Both Chatham County Schools and Orange County Schools district staff are set to present their 2024-25 accountability reports to their respective Boards of Education at their next meetings. Chatham’s is set for Monday, Sep. 8 at 5:30 p.m., while Orange’s is set for Monday, Sep. 22 at 7 p.m.
Featured photo via Chatham County Schools.
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