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Twenty of 23 schools meet state growth targets

Chart shows academic growth of Henderson County schools in 2016-17.

Henderson County Early College, Hendersonville High School, North Henderson High School and Hendersonville Middle School and Atkinson Elementary excelled in academic growth and the county overall had 20 of 23 schools meet or exceed expected growth for the 2016-17 school year, the school system announced.

North Henderson High School recorded the system’s largest individual growth index at 11.64 – the second year in a row NHHS has had a growth index in the double digits. Henderson County Early College posted a growth index of 6.78, while HHS scored a growth index was 5.05. Hendersonville Middle led county middle schools with a growth index of 4.64 and Atkinson Elementary led elementary schools with a growth index of 3.28.

As a whole, district performance showed consistent success in the total percentage of students meeting grade level standards, with an overall proficiency composite of 70 percent, meaning that 70 percent of K-12 students demonstrated proficiency in their grade-level subjects last school year. The results mean Henderson County public schools rank sixth out of 115 public school districts in North Carolina in overall proficiency.

Academic performance in sixth grade subjects improved in the 2016-17 school year, with reading improving by 3.1 percentage points and math by 2.4 percentage points. High school performance in math I showed significant improvement, with a 7.2 percentage point increase compared to the 2015-16 school year. English II performance also increased 3.6 percentage points, and the overall performance composite for high school end-of-course scores increased 3.2 percentage points. Additionally, academic performance on the ACT improved by 2.4 percentage points, and by 5.6 percentage points on the ACT WorkKeys.

“Today, we celebrate the hard work of students, teachers, staff, and families,” said Jan King, assistant superintendent for instructional services. “As reflected in the released accountability results, our public schools continue to excel. And while we take a moment to celebrate, we are committed to continuous improvement.”

As of the 2013-14 school year, the N.C. General Assembly required that schools receive individual letter grades, which are made up of student achievement (80 percent) and growth (20 percent) on state standardized assessments. Though the state’s detailed School Report Cards are not released by NCDPI until mid-October, each school’s letter grade is included in the Sept. 7 accountability results. The Henderson County school system has one “A+” school, one “A” school, 13 “B” schools, and seven “C” schools. (See chart.)