Students in Johnston County Public Schools made significant gains on state test results for the 2021-22 school year.
Results released by the state on Sept. 1 show the overall composite score on end-of-grade and end-of-course tests for Johnston County Public Schools students increased for the 2021-22 school year to 53.3 percent, after achieving 42.7 percent in 2020-21 and 52.9 percent in 2018-19.
A greater number of schools also exceeded growth on state tests. Ten schools exceeded expectations for academic growth in 2018-19. For 2021-22, a total of 33 schools accomplished this goal. Eight schools met growth, while seven schools did not meet growth.
The accomplishment of 33 schools exceeding growth expectations in 2021-22 is an achievement that Superintendent Eric Bracy said is “cause for celebration.”
“Reviewing this data filled me with pride,” said Johnston County Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Eric Bracy. “We set a sizable goal before our students and staff and they worked hard to work towards achieving it. They haven’t let excuses get in the way, did the work, and the results are speaking for themselves.”
Johnston County Public Schools has a district wide goal of 100% of schools in the system receiving a school letter grade of an A, B, or C by the end of the 2023-2024 school year, which has been heavily supported by Dr. Bracy and his senior leadership.
According to the data released from DPI, 37 schools have now met that goal. JCPS had 30 schools have a school letter grade of an A, B, or C before this school year.
“I want to commend the teachers of this district, the school leaders, and all the support staff members who are contributing to this success,” said Dr. Bracy.
The State Board of Education releases summative data annually, which allows districts to measure academic performance. The summative data for the 2021-22 school year for North Carolina districts, including Johnston County Public Schools, was expected to reflect the challenges that all students and educators faced throughout the COVID-19 pandemic across the state. Comparisons are used to inform continuous improvement efforts throughout the district and target supports.
Like districts across the state, JCPS understood that the data released in the report may be reflective of the recent challenging circumstances. However, JCPS showed performance and data that reflected pre-pandemic levels.
The number of schools in JCPS meeting or exceeding growth increased from 27 schools in 2019 to 41 schools in 2022. These numbers are based on the results of end-of-grade and end-of-course tests in reading, math, and science in elementary and middle schools and English and math in high schools.
Additionally, the district was able to reduce the number of its low performing schools from 14 to 5.
The accountability data released by the state also included the four-year Cohort Graduation Rate for the class of 2022. The JCPS four-year graduation increased from 91.1 percent to 91.7 percent, surpassing the state graduation rate of 86.2 percent.
The district’s overall proficiency rate was 53.3 percent which is 1.9 points greater than the state rate of 51.4 percent and exceeds the JCPS pre-pandemic proficiency rate seen in 2019 of 52.9 percent.
The district has implemented research based Core Curriculums in reading and math and the use of on-going instructional walkthroughs with feedback and coaching. JCPS is monitoring student progress across skills and grade-level standards through use of common benchmark assessments to inform and adjust instruction, and is using a differentiated plan of support across the district aligned to meet the specific needs of each school.
“Parents and this community can be proud of the fact that end-of-grade and end-of-course test results are increasing for Johnston County Public Schools. We look forward to continuously reviewing the data that is before us, and to find more ways of improving upon these results,” said Dr. Bracy. “We know that our students and staff will continue to excel.”
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View the current District Accountability Results.
For a more detailed explanation, view the NCDPI Accountability Framework.
View the Accountability Data Sets and Reports from NCDPI.
(JCPS News Release)
The numbers don’t lie, but liars will use numbers too?
Folks this is nothing more than the democrat political arm of WRAL colluding with our Johnston County School Board and donating this election ad dressed up as a news story. WRAL has joined the fight to save the liberal progressive teachers union Johnston County School Board at any cost and donated this story to help save thier candidates in hope of holding a majority on the board.
Your comments are laughable. Lay off the propaganda.
Compare 2019 numbers in the links…they’re telling
Amazing what going to school can do. Unbelievable times we are living in.
The state REDUCED the score required to meet or exceed growth. They changed the formula.
NOT TRUE! Tests are harder than ever. If you don’t think so, take one. Great job students! Keep up the hard work.
Ignore far left liberal and far right conservative rants. We need more common sense moderates.
Well , when you dumb down the test to cover the effects of the ridiculous shut down and mandates it’s not hard to do better. Mark Twain once said,” there are three kind of lies; lies, darn lies and statistics “. The state lowered the score for meeting grade level achievement. Fact.
Kudos to the teachers, support and administrative staff for achieving incredible progress during very difficult times. Well done!
The state REDUCED the score required to meet or exceed growth. They changed the formula.
NOT TRUE! Tests are harder than ever. If you don’t think so, take one. Great job students! Keep up the hard work.
Ignore far left liberal and far right conservative rants. We need more common sense moderates.
Does anyone believe anything coming from this board?
People, I think it’s great schools do the job they do under the circumstances but the state REDUCED the score required to meet or exceed growth. They changed the formula.
Well when you look at all the numbers compared to the years before Covid the students are not doing better so how is this a win?? Yes they are recouping (slowly) the losses from the shut down but still no where near where they should be in comparison to 2019.
I was going to make a comment but everyone else took what I was thinking while i read the article. With a school board as trustworthy as JCPS, well….fill in the rest
Quite frankly, most of you commenting here don’t deserve the hard-working men and women in our schools. You don’t know a thing about test data – except possibly what you heard from one of your fellow “hate all things public education” buddies. Worst of all – no matter what you think you know about those scores – every district in the state operated under the same conditions, but only JCPS reduced it’s number of under performing schools.
By the way, some of ya’ll? Please stick to homeschooling. We really don’t need your attitude in our schools.
If we stick to homeschooling does that mean we don’t have to pay taxes to fund JCPS? If so, then deal.
Ok what ever leftist liberal. Oh FACT: The state REDUCED the score required to meet or exceed growth. They changed the formula.
NOT TRUE! Tests are harder than ever. If you don’t think so, take one. Great job students! Keep up the hard work.
Ignore far left liberal and far right conservative rants. We need more common sense moderates.
Ha! So much for that public schools are failing narrative.
Take a seat.
LoL ok keep drinking that koolaid. The state REDUCED the score required to meet or exceed growth. They changed the formula.
Ok so our benchmarks are moving the right way of moving out of a consistently crappy school system to a mostly crappy school system after a entire year lost to teachers not willing to come to school and getting bonuses for that. Forget that this same school system lost 8 million dollars during this time spand and then got it replaced by the Johnston County Commissioners a month or two before the Covid-19 shut down hit. To add to insult to injury then we find out in March they are discussing hiding 8 million dollars from the Johnston County Commissioners and Taxpayers. Watch the movie based off the true story Bad Education and you will understand how government protects government folks.
Or was it 10 million dollars?
https://jocoreport.com/johnston-county-schools-facing-10-million-budget-shortfall/
As a second grade teacher who frequents the discussion boards following articles on our education system, I am sickened by the comments I’m reading. I, along with every other teacher I work with, have spent the last 3 years sacrificing health, time after school with family, and SANITY trying to reach the students we teach. We have continuously strived to produce growth in students who are suffering from the same worries we all have faced during this awful “pandemic.”
Is the school board wonky? Yes. Has the formula for grading schools changed? Yes, but it changed before the school shutdown. Are there teachers out there that let you down? Maybe.
I am here to tell you that you have an excellent school system. Your taxes are low. Your children are growing! For every negative that is written about in this tiny little newspaper, there are 1000 positives.
Please stop worrying about who is running for the school board unless you are going to run and show us what you can do. Stop complaining about your local school unless you are going to donate your time to PTA. Call your kids’ teachers and see how you can help. If you think things aren’t up to your standards, use actions and not words.
Congratulations JCPS!!!! We are amazing and we will continue to do what we love! Grow brains!
Ok what ever leftist liberal. Oh FACT: The state REDUCED the score required to meet or exceed growth. They changed the formula.
NOT TRUE! Tests are harder than ever. If you don’t think so, take one. Great job students! Keep up the hard work.
Ignore far left liberal and far right conservative rants. We need more common sense moderates.
100% wrong. The tests are not harder. I know for a fact that the test scoring system was re-normed to account for the loss of learning during the COVID shut down. I also know the state adjusted the percentages as to the grading of schools. They graded based on 50% growth and 50% at or above grade level. A “D” school in the previous year could never reach the percentage at or above grade level so they switched the weighting. Fact
I don’t really care who the keyboard warriors are here on the JoCo report. You know, the ones who know everything about everything and talk crap about it all. If you want to be a nasty old man who thinks everything after 1950 has been crap mostly because it’s not how you did it? You’re just making yourself feel important because your name and words show up on the internet.
You’re a turd. A troll. A tool. You mean nothing, you accomplish nothing, and the only folks giving you the time of day are your fellow grumps.
If you think schools are crappy, you need to drag your sorry behind into those schools and see the amazing things our kids can do today. There’s a reason a lot of parents can’t help their high school kids with their school work. Kids today are doing things far beyond what most of their parents ever did.
Yep, these kids don’t know how to do some of the things you learned to do. Both are valuable, but these kids are learning to compete in the 21st century, not the 20th.
You negative Nellie’s are always the same people making the same complaints – over and over and over again. The rest of us are just ignoring you these days.
Ok what ever leftist liberal. Oh FACT: The state REDUCED the score required to meet or exceed growth. They changed the formula.
That’s really the best you have to come back at me with B W and Lynn Bailey? I want to give you another chance to be more factual and I want you to really make me wished I had never commented on this subject this time. Then Sunday evening or even maybe Monday if you deserve a response you shall receive one? You have the education to do this better, please make it count this time.
I heard west Johnston had an English teacher really raising test scores.
As well as other things